•  GIFT   OF 
Mrs,   B.   E  Bickford 


HOW   TO    STUDY 

AND 

WHAT    TO    STUDY 


BY 

RICHARD  L.  SANDWICK 

PRINCIPAL  DEERFIELD-SHIELDS  HIGH  SCHOOL 
HIGHLAND  PARK,  ILLINOIS 


D.   C.   HEATH   &   CO.,   PUBLISHERS 

BOSTON  NEW   YORK  CHICAGO 


0^^^-;.         I  nc^f^ 


Copyright,  1915, 
By  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co. 


■^/5. 


CONTENTS 

PART  I 

The  Principles  of  Effective  Study 

PAGE 

I.  Know  That  Your  Work  is  Worth  Doing  .       s 
II.  Have  Confidence  That  You  Can  Do  It  .     i6 

III.  Have  Fixed  Hours  for  Study  and  Plunge 

IN  When  the  Hour  Comes     ....     21 

IV.  Begin  by  Recalling  What  You  Already 

Know 28 

V.  First  Study  the  Lesson  as  a  Whole; 

Then  Go  Back  to  Difficulties      .     .32 
VI.  Use  Multiple  Inlagery  in  Study  .     .     .37 
VII.  Practice  Recall  as  You  Study;  and  in 
Drill    Work    Repeat    at   Increasing 

Intervals 42 

VIII.  Make  a  Synopsis  and  Visuallze  It  .     .     .47 
IX.  Learn  When  and  How  to  Read  RapidlV  .     56 
X.  Stimulate     Your     Efforts     with    the 

Thought  of  Competition      ....     67 
XI.  Conserve  Your  Energies  for  Study   .     .     73 

PART  n 

What  to  Study  and  Haw 

I.  Why  Stlt)y  History? 87 

How  to  Study  History 91 

Ml6Glii36 


IV  CONTENTS 

II.  Why  Study  Latin? 93 

How  to  Study  Latin 94 

XII.  Why  Study  English? 97 

Why  Study  English  Literature?  97 

Why  Study  English  Grammar?  98 

Why  Study  Composition  and  Rhetoric?  100 

How  to  Study  English 103 

How  to  Study  Spelling 104 

How  to  Study  Grammar 105 

How  to  Study  Rhetoric  and  Composition  106 

IV.  Why  Study  the  Modern  Languages?  .     .  109 

How  to  Study  a  Foreign  Language     .      .no 

V.  Why  Study  Mathematics? in 

How  to  Study  Mathematics  .  .112 

VI.  Why  Study  THE  Sciences? 115 

Chemistry 115 

Physics 117 

Biology 118 

Physical  Geography 121 

How  to  Study  Science 123 

■  Vn.  Why  Study  Economics?     .     .     .     .     .     .127 

VIII.  Why  Study  Psychology? 128 

IX.  Why  Study  Drawing? 130 

X.  Vocational  Studies     . 132 

Stenography 132 

Bookkeeping  .      . 133 

Salesmanship .      •  i34 

Scientific  Farming 136 

Domestic  Art  and  Science   .     .     .     .137 


CONTENTS  V 

Vocational  Studies  —  Continued 

Manual  Training 138 

The  Professional  Engineers  ....  138 
Engineering  and  Building  Trades  .     .140 

XI.  The  Older  Professions 142 

The  Physician 142 

The  Dentist 145 

The  Pharmacist 146 

The  Lawyer 148 

XII.  What  is  Efficiency? 152 

Mental  Power 153 

Social  Power 154 

Initiative 157 

Appendix  A 165 

Appendix  B 168 


PART    I 

THE  PRINCIPLES   OF   EFFECTIVE 
STUDY 


FOREWORD  TO  PART  I 

It  is  my  belief  that  students  have  a  right  to  as 
much  and  as  expert  coaching  on  how  to  study  lessons 
from  books  as  they  receive  on  how  to  play  football, 
how  to  dance,  or  how  to  do  anything  else.  They 
will  generally  be  grateful  for  such  help.  In  fact,  the 
learning  process  may  be  made  the  subject  of  so 
much  thought  as  to  become  itself  a  vital  interest, 
perhaps  as  potent  in  holding  students  in  school  as 
are  the  extra-scholastic  activities,  such  as  games, 
dramatics,  initiations,  and  the  like,  that  are  seem- 
ingly the  only  attractions  in  school  and  college  life 
for  many  young  people.  My  classes  have  found 
help  in  the  talks  that  I  have  given  as  I  have  kept 
pace  with  the  slowly  developing  literature  of  edu- 
cational psychology. 

The  purpose  of  this  little  book  is  to  place  before 
younger  students,  in  simple  form,  the  general  prin- 
ciples of  effective  study;  if  it  helps  its  readers,  it 
will  have  fulfilled  its  mission. 

The  authors  starred  below  read  the  greater  part 
of  this  book  when  in  manuscript  form  and  helped 
me  with  criticisms,  suggestions,  and  encouragement. 

Authorities 
The  Psychology  of  High  School  Subjects.  .Charles  H.  Judd  * 

The  Learning  Process Stephen  Sheldon  Colvin  * 

The   Principles   of   Teaching   Based   on   Psychology 

Edward   L.  Thomdike 

A  Brief  Course  in  the  Teaching  Process ....  Geo.  D.  Strayer 


4  HOW  TO  STUDY 

The  Educative  Process Wm.  Chandler  Bagley* 

1  he  Econcmy  aud  Training  of  Memory Henry  J.  Watt 

Introduction  to  Experimental  Education ....  Robert  R.  Rusk 

Manual  of  Mental  and  Physical  Tests G.  M.  Whipple 

The  Psychology  of  Adolescence G.  Stanley  Hall 

Attention  and  Interest Fehx  Arnold 

Interest  in  its  Relation  to  Pedagogy.  .  .'. .  Wilhelm  Ostermann 

Interest  and  Education Charles  De  Garmo 

The  Individual  in  the  Making E.  A:  Kirkpatrick 

Genetic  Philosophy  of  Education G.  E.  Partridge 

Studies  in  Logical  Theory John  Dewey 

The  Basis  of  Practical  Teaching Elmer  Barrett  Bryan 

Principles  of  Educational  Practice Paul  EJapper 

The  Principles  of  Education W.  Franklin  Jones 

How  to  Study  and  Teaching  How  to  Study . .  F.  M.  McMurry  * 

High  School  Education Charles  H.  Johnston  and  Others 

The  High  School  Age Irving  King 

Psychology William  James 

Increasing  Human  Efficiency  in  Business .  . .  Walter  Dill  Scott 

Mental  Fatigue Dr.  Max  Offner 

Mental  Fatigue Tsuro  Arai 

La  Fatigue  et  le  Repos Dr.  Ferdinand  LaGrange 

Food  and  Dietetics Robert  Hutchison,  M.  D. 

Educational  Values Wm.  Chandler  Bagley  * 

The  Hygiene  of  the  Mind Thomas  Smith  Clouston 

Psychology Charles  H.  Judd  * 


THE  PRINCIPLES   OF   EFFECTIVE 
STUDY 

I.  Know  that  Your  Work  is  Worth  Doing 

No  great  and  enduring  work  will  ever  be  done 

when  the  heart  is  not  in  it.     The  harder  the  work  Intellectual 

,  _     .  work  diflEi- 

the  more  clearly  true  is  the  statement.    It  is  true  cult. 

of  study;  and  study  for  young  minds  is  hard  work. 
There  must  be  interest  of  some  sort  in  study,  as 
in  everything  else,  or  it  cannot  be  continued  by 
rational  human  beings.  The  will  cannot  focus 
attention  upon  any  subject  that  lacks  interest  for 
more  than  a  few  seconds  at  a  time;  and  forced  atten- 
tion requires  too  great  expenditure  of  energy. 
School  work  must  of  necessity  be  hard  for  the  nor- 
mal young  mind.  Every  subject  of  instruction  is  to 
him  a  new  field  of  thought.  Later  in  life,  when 
knowledge  has  been  acquired  along  many  different 
lines,  the  acquired  knowledge  develops  centres  of 
interest  that  attract  and  hold  the  attention;  but 
the  youth,  seeing  no  such  relations,  knows  little  or 
nothing  about  the  subject  matter  to  which  he 
begins  to  devote  his  time  and  hence  launches  him- 
self into  the  new  work  with  great  effort. 
In  order  to  make  a  hearty  effort  you  must  think 

of  all  the  good  reasons  for  study  that  you  can  find,  ^^  ^ 

1  1      11    •     1.       .  1    •„  right  emo- 

and   must  control  all  mclmation  toward  idleness  tional  tone. 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


Easy  to  see 
the    advan- 
tage of 
learning. 


Wealth    de- 
voted   to 
higher  edu- 
cation. 


or  pleasure.  A  great  deal  depends  upon  your  emo- 
tional tone.  The  right  emotional  tone  is  a  happy- 
earnest  feeling  toward  your  work.  You  will  attain 
this  in  proportion  as  you  respect  and  value  your 
studies. 

Fortunately  it  requires  only  a  little  serious  thought 
to  make  the  average  young  man  or  woman  realize 
the  importance  of  study.  So  apparent  is  the  ad- 
vantage of  education  that  even  the  uneducated 
can  realize  it;  and  often  the  cry  goes  up  from  those 
who  come  to  their  senses  too  late,  ''Oh,  why  did  I 
not  devote  more  time  to  study  at  an  age  when  I 
had  the  leisure  for  it!" 

A  proof  of  what  the  general  public  thinks  of  high 
school  and  university  education  is  the  amount  of 
money  voted  in  public  taxes  to  support  it.  This 
amount  increases  by  leaps  and  bounds.  In  191 2-13 
more  than  $59,000,000  was  raised  by  taxation  to 
support  public  high  schools;  and  $212,582  from  pub- 
lic appropriat'ons,  besides  $11,484,000  from  other 
sources,  was  spent  in  maintaining  private  schools 
of  the  same  grade.  Consider  also,  in  addition  to 
the  pubHc  taxes,  the  gifts  and  benefactions  from 
private  individuals  who  decide  that  the  best  way 
in  which  their  money  can  do  good  is  by  providing 
opportunities  for  the  young  to  study  and  secure 
education.  In  191 2-13,  $25,000,000  was  bestowed 
for  this  purpose  on  colleges  and  universities. 
For  the  same  year  there  were  1,283,009  students 
in  public  and  private  high  schools  and  over 
200,000  in  colleges.  The  foregoing  figures  do  not 
include  the  students  in  evening  schools,  business 


STUDY  IS  WORTH  WHILE  7 

colleges,   normal   schools,    and   other    professional 
schools  and  special  institutions. 

All  this  wealth,  devoted  to  study,  and  all  this 
army  of  students  who  have  passed  the  years  of  com-  shows  vahie 
pulsory  education  are  very  significant  facts;  they  P"^  "P^'^  '•■• 
can  have  but  one  meaning:  the  enormous  value 
put  upon  the  work  of  schools  and  colleges  —  in  other 
words,  upon  study.  For  in  the  last  analysis  there 
is  no  such  thing  as  education  without  study  and  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  one  who  is  being  educated. 

If  this  array  of  figures  appeals  only  to  the  intel- 
lect and  still  leaves  you  cold  toward  your  actual  Education 
1  ,  1.    1       .  I'll  1         .11    widens  the 

work,  take  a  httle  time  to  thmk  what  study  will  interests  and 

do  for  you.     It  will  make  possible  to  you  the  high-  promotes 
1         .        IT      <■  11         •  1  1-  ,    .      happiness. 

est,  happiest  life,  fullest  in  imderstanding  and  in 

rich  human  experiences.     With  study,  your  interests, 

now  so  narrow,  will  widen  in  every  direction.    All 

that  surrounds  you,  both  near  and  far,  —  the  world 

of  nature,  the  earth,  plants  and  animals,  the  past, 

the  present,  yes,  even  the  future,  —  will  be  filled 

with  significance;    and  you  will  become  alive  to  a 

thousand  things  to  which  now  you  are  dead.     WTiat 

interest  has  a  child  in  the  tombs  of  the  Pharaohs,  in 

the   atomic   theory,   or   in   Mendel's   law?    What 

interest  have  you  in  these  things  if  you  never  studied 

them?    "Not  to  have  studied,"  said  Cicero  two 

thousand  years  ago,  "is  to  remain  always  a  child." 

Power,  position,  reputation,  and  honor  are  all 

within  the  grasp  of  the  diligent  student.     This  is  ^^  increases 

as  true  today  as  it  was  when  Solomon  wrote,  a  bilities  in 

thousand  years  before  Christ,  "Happy  is  the  man  ^^^^• 

that  findeth  wisdom,  and  the  man  that  getteth 


8  HOW  TO  STUDY 

understanding.  .  .  .  Length  of  days  is  in  her  right 

hand,  in  her  left  hand  riches  and  honor." 

In  order  to  get  the  right  attitude  toward  school 

Value  of  in-  Y^rork  you  should  have  by  you  a  book  or  two  of  short 

spirational  -,  >     ^     ^        ^  , 

books  to  the  biographical  sketches  that   show  how  success  has 

student.  j^g^n  won.  Smiles's  Selfhelp  and  the  Proverbs  have 
stimulated  many  a  man  of  an  earlier  time  to  stick 
to  his  books.  Students  have  found  Orison  Swett 
Marden's  inspirational  books  valuable,  especially 
his  Pushing  to  the  Front.  These  books  are  full  of 
examples  of  men  who,  under  trying  circumstances, 
often  without  school  or  teacher,  in  a  narrow  margin 
of  leisure  time  have  acquired  rich  stores  of  knowl- 
edge by  use  of  which  they  have  risen  to  distinction. 
To  himself,  the  efforts  of  the  average  student 
Value  of  bi-  seem  paltry  and  feeble  when  he  reads  Milton's  words, 
ography.  "From  the  twelfth  year  of  my  age  I  scarcely  ever 
went  from  my  lessons  to  bed  before  midnight;"  or 
when  he  pictures  to  himself  Abraham  Lincoln 
stretched  by  the  firelight,  working  out  the  problems 
of  geometry  —  a  self-imposed  task;  or  when  he  reads 
of  Cobden,  the  poor  clerk,  rising  early  to  study  while 
his  companions  slept,  and  laying  the  foundation  of 
that  eminence  to  which  Bright  referred  when  he  said, 
"There  is  not  in  Great  Britain  a  poor  man's  home 
that  has  not  a  bigger,  better,  and  cheaper  loaf 
through  Richard  Cobden's  efforts."  Read  Elihu 
Burritt's  diary  and  know  what  effort  is:  "Mon- 
day, June  1 8,  headache,  40  pages  Cuvier's  Theory 
of  the  Earthy  64  pages  French,  11  hours  forging. 
Tuesday,  June  19,  60  lines  Hebrew,  30  hnes  Danish, 
10  lines  Bohemian,  9  lines  Polish,  15  names  of  stars, 


STUDY  IS  WORTH  WHILE  9 

io  hours  forging."    Is  it  strange  that  Elihu  Burritt 

became  distinguished  as  an  eminent  lecturer  and 

philanthropist?    It  was  he  who  organized  the  first 

international  Peace  Congress  and  to  his  efforts  are 

traced  the  Geneva  Tribunal  and  the  Paris  Bering 

Sea  Tribunal.    Such  biography  is  fit  to  put  "pep," 

if  possible,  into  the  studies  of  a  half-wit;  certainly  it 

should  help  to  make  scholars  of  dullards. 

If  there  are  any  who  are  imwilling  to  work  for 

their  own  selfish  advancement,  they  should  con-  Scholar^ip 

a  sign  01 
sider  the  increased  power  for  service  to  others  which  good  stock. 

such  self-advancement  gives.  Those  students  whose 
pride  is  not  self-centered  must  still  rejoice  to  see 
how  grade-marks,  symbolizing  their  scholastic  suc- 
cess in  competition  with  other  young  people,  gladden 
the  hearts  of  those  at  home.  Mother's  and  father's 
eyes  brighten,  and  brothers  and  sisters  are  glad 
because  the  student  of  the  family  has  won  distinc- 
tion. Young  and  old  instinctively  know  that 
industry  and  intelligence  are  indications  of  good 
stock  in  which  they,  too,  have  a  share;  and  all  are 
in  consequence  heartened  and  cheered.  "There 
will  be  a  strong  man  in  the  family,"  parents  say, 
"when  years  of  weak  old  age  come  upon  us." 

The  most  imselfish  can  see  in  study  an  oppor- 
tunity to  serve  their  country.     We  delight  to  honor  Scholarship 

.<  <-/  and  patn- 

courage,  but  it  is  questionable  whether  the  most  otism. 

distinguished  services  of  our  country's  generals  are 
to  be  compared  with  the  services  of  her  scholars. 
History  is  very  clear  on  this  —  that  the  nations 
that  have  attained  preeminence  in  many  lines  of 
industry  have  done  so  as  the  result  of  scholarship. 


10  HOW  TO  STUDY 

If  America  is  to  hold  her  place  even  in  industry, 
she  must  have  scholars  and  scientists  of  a  thorough- 
going stamp  to  lead  the  way  to  discovery  and 
invention. 
It  is  no  small  thing  to  make  a  reputation  for 

Value  of        ability  among  one's  classmates.     In  most  instances 

good    repu-     ,  .„  .     -.  , 

tations  there  will  never  agam  be  such  an  opportunity  to 

among  acquire  so  easily  a  reputation  for  ability,  intelligence, 

and  industry.  Where  could  one  find  a  better  chance 
to  show  his  worth  before  so  many?  These  class- 
mates of  today  will  be  the  men  and  women  of  to- 
morrow; and  what  they  say  of  you  can  make  or  mar 
your  success  in  the  days  to  come.  If  with  good 
scholarship  go  bigness  of  heart  and  unselfish  devo- 
tion to  common  interests,  you  will  have  many 
eager  helpers  all  along  your  upward  path  —  old 
schoolmates  and  college  friends,  who  have  recog- 
nized your  worth. 

It  is  of  no  less  importance  to  make  a  good  record 
Commercial  jj^  ^-j^g  ^y^g  Qf  yQ^j.  instructors.  Especially  when 
school  repu-  you  first  start  in  business  life,  employers  will  inquire 
tations.  what  your  school  record  is.    The  more  important 

the  position  to  which  you  aspire  and  the  more  trust 
to  be  placed  in  you,  the  more  will  your  record  be 
searched.  On  the  following  page  is  a  form  that  I 
have  filled  out  scores  of  times  for  young  men  seek- 
ing positions  of  responsibility.  Notice  how  much 
stress  is  upon  their  school  record. 


STUDY  IS  WORTH  WHILE  .  ii 

The  Fidelity  and  Casualty  Company  of  New  York 

97  Cedar  Street,  New  York  City 
Fidelity  Department:  Edward  C.  Hunt,  Superintendent 

Dear  Sir: 

Mr ,  age ,  of 

son  or  ward  of  Mr ,  of , 

has  applied  to  this  company  for  a  bond  of  suretyship  in  the 

sum  of  $ as in  the  service  of 

Since  it  appears  from  his  application  that  he  attended 

school  from     ,     to 

under , 

I  beg  leave  to  ask  the  favor  of  full  and  candid  repUes  to  the 
following  questions.  Your  answers  will  be  deemed  strictly 
confidential  and  will,  of  course,  involve  you  in  no  pecuniary 
responsibility. 

Yours  respectfully, 


1.  Are  the  foregoing  dates  correct  according  to  your 
records?     If  not,  what  are  the  correct  dates? 

2.  Do  your  records,  or  your  personal  knowledge,  warrant 
you  in  recommending  the  appUcant  for 

a.  Attention  to  studies? 

b.  Good  conduct? 

c.  Punctuality? 

d.  Ability? 

3.  Have  you  ever  known  or  heard  of  any  dishonorable  action 
on  his  part?     If  so,  give  particulars 

4.  Have  you  ever  known  or  heard  at  any  time  of  his  using 
intoxicants  to  excess?  If  so,  please  state  about  how  long 
ago 

5.  Have  you  ever  known  of  his  having  been  addicted  to  any 
bad  habits?    If  so,  what? 

6.  From  your  acquaintance  with  him  or  his  antecedents, 
do  you  deem  him  entirely  trustworthy? 


12 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


7.  Where  and  by  whom  has  he  been  employed  or  engaged 
since  you  have  known  him? 

8.  Are  you  acquainted  with  the  applicant's  home  or  do- 
mestic conditions?  If  so,  please  state  where  he  has  been 
residing,  giving  any  information  you  may  have  of  his  imme- 
diate family  surroundings 

The  information  hereon  is  given  in  confidence  and  no  pecun- 
iary responsibility  is  assumed  by  the  undersigned. 


Signature Business  or  occupation . 

Date Address 


The   educa- 
tion of  a 
savage. 


He   meets 
his  step- 
mother. 


The  most  convincing  proof  of  the  value  of  edu- 
cation that  I  have  ever  known  came  to  me  in  an 
address  by  Doctor  Carlos  Montezuma  before  a 
men's  club  in  Chicago.  Doctor  Montezuma  is  a 
full-blooded  Apache  Indian  who  was  captured,  when 
a  child,  from  an  Indian  village  in  Arizona  and  who 
continued  to  be  held  as  a  slave  long  after  negro 
slavery  ceased  in  the  South.  With  singular  vivid- 
ness and  charm  he  told  the  story  of  this  early 
episode  and  of  his  subsequent  life:  how  he  was 
sold  for  thirty  dollars  to  a  Chicago  artist  who  hap- 
pened to  be  traveling  on  the  frontier;  how  he  was 
brought  East  and  sent  to  school ;  how  he,  formerly 
a  nameless  young  savage,  passed  through  the  grades 
of  the  elementary  and  high  schools,  entered  college, 
and,  after  graduating  there,  finished  a  course  of 
medicine  in  a  professional  school. 

The  government  at  Washington  then  engaged 
his  services  to  visit  the  western  tribes  and  report 
upon  their  condition.  He  visited,  among  others,  the 
very  tribe  from  which  as  a  boy  he  had  been  taken 
captive.     There  he   found   his  people   still   living 


STUDY  IS  WORTH  WHILE  13 

under  primitive  conditions  in  the  wretched  little 
grass-thatched  huts  that  he  had  known  in  childhood. 
His  attention  was  called  to  an  Indian  woman,  dirty 
and  unkempt,  who  was  cooking  at  a  fire  of  sticks 
before  her  hut,  amid  a  swarm  of  flies.  From  the 
height  of  his  superior  education  gained  in  the  white 
man's  schools,  he  gazed  upon  her.  Outwardly  he 
saw  that  she  w^as  unclean;  and  he  knew  that  within 
she  was  the  prey  to  fears  and  dark  superstitions — 
the  ignorant  victim  of  her  unsanitary  surroundings. 
She  was  so  wretched  an  object  to  look  upon,  evi- 
dently so  lacking  in  feminine  tastes  and  cultured 
feelings,  that  as  he  stood  there  he  found  himself 
wondering  whether  this  woman  had  a  soul. 

Presently  he  learned  that  she  was  his  own  step-  ^^  realizes 
,  rrii  f     I  •  <•     .       I-      1  .  1  1     the  advan- 

mother.    Then  a  feelmg  of  pity  for  his  people,  such  tages  of  the 

as  he  had  not  known  before,  came  over  him.     He  white  man's 

schools, 
realized  at  once  that  their  highest  good  could  be 

attained  only  by  their  entering  into  the  culture  of 

the  whites,  by  learning  as  he  had  learned  the  lessons 

of  civilization  taught  in  their  schools. 

Doctor  Montezuma  ended  the  address  with  a 
plea  that  the  Indian  reservations  be  abolished,  that 
their  lazy,  idle  life  at  government  expense  cease; 
that  they  be  no  longer  segregated,  but  that  their 
children  be  put  into  school  side  by  side  with  the 
white  children,  where  they  could  get  from  books 
and  studies  and  teachers  the  experience  of  past  ages 
with  which  to  regulate  their  conduct  and  ennoble 
their  lives. 

The  speaker  was  a  typical  Indian  of  the  far  West, 
squat  of  stature,  with  high  cheek  bones,  swarthy 


14  HOW  TO  STUDY 

What    edu-  complexion,   and   coarse,   thatch-like  hair.     As  he 
cs-tion  nas  ,         -  . 

done    for      spoke,  the  wonder  of  it  came  to  us  again  and  again. 

^^^-  Instead  of  the  guttural  Indian  tongue,   scant  in 

vocabulary  and  pieced  out  with  signs  and  gestures, 
he  used  the  most  cultured  English,  enriched  as  it  is 
by  additions  from  the  noblest  languages  of  ancient 
and  modern  Europe.  It  was  a  distinguished  audi- 
ence that  he  addressed,  representing  many  of  the 
best  families  of  a  wealthy  residence  district;  but 
it  is  doubtful  whether  one  of  his  hearers  could 
have  spoken  better  than  he.  They  marvelled  to 
see  what  education  had  done  for  him.  His  body 
was  probably  little  different  from  what  it  would 
have  been  if  he  had  remained  in  his  primitive  home. 
But  his  mind  and  soul  —  how  different  were  they! 
How  different  his  outlook  on  life,  his  attitude  toward 
the  world,  his  sympathies,  tastes,  and  prejudices! 
With  his  scientific  studies,  there  had  come  to  this 
Indian  physician  a  love  of  demonstrable  truth  that 
made  ridiculous  the  hocus  pocus  of  the  medicine 
man  of  his  native  tribe. 

He  might  have  said  with  Tennyson's  Ulysses, 
"I  am  a  part  of  all  that  I  have  met."  He  had  met 
in  his  books  the  master  minds  of  all  time;  and  into 
his  soul  their  thoughts  and  feelings  had  passed. 
Perhaps  it  was  in  spite  of  himself  that  the  lessons 
in  sanitation,  learned  in  school  and  in  hospital,  had 
so  changed  him  as  to  make  the  filth  of  an  Indian 
camp  disgusting.  Perhaps  some  of  the  tenderness 
of  Gray  and  Burns  and  Goldsmith  had  made  Indian 
cruelty  a  hateful  thing.  Perhaps  the  songs  of 
Mendelssohn  and  Schubert  and  the  orchestrations 


STUDY  IS  WORTH  WHILE  15 

of  Wagner  had  taught  a  nobler  enjoyment  than  that 
afforded  by  tom-tom  and  shouting.  He  had  seen  the 
effect  of  training  in  the  use  of  material  things:  as 
when  architect  and  builder  have  learned  to  erect 
dwellings  that  make  the  tepee  look  like  the  abode  of 
animals,  or  at  least  like  the  play-house  of  children. 
He  had  seen  how,  as  the  result  of  study,  men  are 
talking  through  vast  reaches  of  space,  harnessing 
the  cataract  to  do  their  work,  and  flying  on  the 
wings  of  the  wind.  It  is  not  strange  that  he  wanted 
the  gifts  of  education  for  his  people.  It  is  said 
that  three  generations  without  schools  and  without 
teachers  would  put  us  all  back  into  savagery. 

It  is  worth  while  to  think  sometimes  of  such 
things;  we  are  so  used  to  schools  and  education  that 
we  forget  how  much  they  mean  to  us. 

As  a  student  J  know  that  your  work  is  worth  doing.   Summary. 

Think  of  all  the  good  reasons  you  have  for  studying: 
your  own  highest  interest,  your  home,  your  country. 

Read  the  authors  and  biographies  that  emphasize 
these  truths;  and  avoid  every  suggestion  contrary  to 
their  teachings. 


II.  Have  Confidence  that  You  can  do  it 

Not  only  must  you  gain  the  full  consent  of  your 
^f?^T^^^  mind  to  the  proposition  that  your  work  as  a  student 
pleasure  and  is  worth  doing,  —  you  must  also  have  confidence 
despair.  ^/^^^  y^^  ^^^  ^g  ^^  Remember :  the  right  emotional 
tone  is  one  of  happy-earnest  confidence.  If  you  know 
that  your  work  is  well  worth  doing  you  cannot  dis- 
like it.  If  you  know  that  you  can  do  it,  you  cannot 
despair  of  it.  Enormous  energy  has  to  be  spent  in 
studying  what  one  dislikes  or  despairs  of  acquiring. 
Displeasure  depresses  and  exhausts.  The  brow 
contracts,  the  shoulders  draw  together,  the  corners 
of  the  mouth  drop  down,  the  whole  form  stoops,  the 
hands  close,  and  the  arms  bend  into  a  more  or  less 
defensive  attitude.  In  that  position  the  body  is 
on  guard,  as  it  were;  shut  up,  so  far  as  may  be,  to 
outside  influence.  The  mind  follows  the  body. 
In  such  a  condition  of  mind  and  body,  learning 
is  almost  impossible. 

But  the  right  emotional  tone   of   happy-earnest 

Invigorat-      confidence  smooths  out  the  wrinkles  in  the  brow, 
ing  effect  of  ,..         ,  .      ,  ,  .         . 

hope  and     hfts  the  corners  of   the  mouth,   opens   the   chest 

pleasure.        ^-q  (j^^p  breathing  and  strong  heart  action.     The 

whole    body    becomes     receptive.      The    mind    is 

then  alert  and  ready  to    receive  suggestion    and 

stimulation.^ 

Now  the  question  is,  how  may  we  acquire  this 

confidence?     Lincoln  sustained  himself  in  the  years 

1  See  Scott's  Increasing  Human  Efficiency  in  Business,  p.  182. 


BE  CONFIDENT  OF  SUCCESS  17 

of  self-directed  study  with  the  behef,  ''What  man  ^^'J^^^^'J^^y^ 
has  done  before,  man  can  do  again."     It  is  a  sus-  the  thought 
taining  thought  for  you.     Generations  of  students  °^  others' 
have  mastered  this  mathematics,  this  Latin,  this 
physics,  over  which  you  sigh.     Others  in  a  thousand 
schools  are  mastering  these  studies  today.     Per- 
haps in  your  class  are  others  far  less  equipped  than 
you  with  energy  and  endurance  to  bear  the  stress 
of  mental  work.     What  all  these  have  done  and  are 
doing  successfully  you  can  do. 

Not  only  should  the  thought  of  others  encourage 
you,  but  the  place  that  you  have  already  reached  ^y   ^^^   . 
in  education  should  prove  to  you  that  you  are  no  your  own 

defective.    Have   you   won   that   place   by   sheer  hard-won 

•^  I  ^      .  success, 

force  of  industry?    Then  so  much  the  greater  must 

be  your  deserved  self-reliance.     Hard-won  success 

breeds  ever  the  best  and  sturdiest  confidence.    The 

race  is  not  always  to  the  swift.     Remember  that 

Grant  was  a  mediocre  student  and  Wellington  slow 

to  learn.     Perhaps  the  persistency  which  slow  minds 

must  develop  to  hold  a  place  in  school  more  than 

makes  up  for  the  lack  of  brilliance  and  quickness  of 

intellect. 

Lack  of  money  need  not  daunt  the  student. 
Scholarship  thrives  best  on  plain  fare.  After  a  Indigence 
dinner  of  cornmeal  and  milk,  no  sleepy  dullness  scholarship. 
follows,  such  as  halts  the  studies  of  the  overfed. 
Never  was  it  so  easy  for  the  poor  to  acquire  an 
education.  Thousands  are  working  their  way 
through  high  schools  and  colleges.  Many  earn 
every  cent  it  costs  them. 

What  others  are  doing  you  can  do.     Only  do  not 


i8 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


Advice  to 
those  who 
work  their 
way. 


Advice  to 
those  who 
learn  with 
difficulty. 


think  you  must  carry  full  work  while  you  earn 
your  way.  Sometimes  young  people  attempt  the 
impracticable,  and  are  disappointed  at  failures 
that  were  inevitable.  If  necessary,  take  five  or 
six  years  to  carry  a  four-years'  course.  Then  you 
will  have  no  difficulty  in  holding  a  good  rank  in 
scholarship. 

In  urging  you  to  have  confidence,  I  would  not 
have  it  understood  that  you  are  urged  to  take  more 
work  than  you  can  do  well.  Just  as  one  does  not 
thrive  physically  by  overeating,  so  no  one  can  thrive 
mentally  by  trying  to  take  in  more  mental  food 
than  he  can  make  a  part  of  his  thinking.  There 
is  a  wide  difference  in  the  power  of  individuals  to 
assimilate  learning,  just  as  in  their  power  to 
assimilate  food.  Physical  differences  are  easily 
recognized  by  young  people.  They  readily  see 
that  one  of  their  number  is  six  feet  two  in  height, 
while  another  is  barely  five  feet.  They  see  that  one 
young  man  can  easily  throw  an  iron  ball  forty-five 
feet,  while  another  of  the  same  age  cannot  throw 
it  twenty  feet,  though  he  tries  ever  so  hard.  But 
young  people  are  slow  to  recognize  mental  differ- 
ences. They  usually  ascribe  differences  in  marks 
to  differences  in  effort  or  in  previous  study,  or  to 
some  external  circumstance.  The  lock- step  of  the 
grades  fosters  this  belief;  and  especially  the  fact 
that  effort  there  usually  counts  for  as  much  as 
actual  accomplishment  in  securing  promotion  from 
grade  to  grade. 

Even  while  urging  you  to  have  confidence,  I  would 
also  urge  you  to  become  acquainted  with  your  own 


BE  CONFIDENT  OF  SUCCESS  19 

limitations.     Know  yourself.     Thus  only  can  your   ^^^^^^^,, 

confidence  be  sane  and  enduring.    Just  as  there  learned 

are  boys  who  can  put  the  shot  forty  feet  as  easily  rather  than 
,  .  -  -  -  much    hazy 

as  others  put  it  twenty,  so  there  may  be  one  student  knowledge. 

who  can  carry  five  subjects  with  no  more  effort 
than  another  must  put  forth  to  carry  three.  If 
you  belong  to  the  small  group  that  can  do  no  more 
than  three  studies  well,  accept  that  fact  and  do 
not  try  to  carry  more.  Unfortunately,  from  a  false 
sense  of  pride  or  a  desire  to  graduate  with  a  certain 
class,  many  students  stagger  under  too  heavy  a 
load.  They  may  manage  to  pass;  but  the  work  is 
not  learned  with  enough  thoroughness  to  make  it 
a  part  of  their  mental  equipment.  Too  little  of  it 
ever  becomes  the  subject  of  thought  afterward;  in 
fact,  it  may  be  done  in  so  feeble  a  way  that  it  con- 
tributes practically  nothing  to  the  happiness  or 
efficiency  of  the  student. 

"Beware  of  a  man  of  one  book,"  says  the  prov- 
erb,  meaning   that   such   a  man   proves   a   more  Advantage 
1  11  111  of    speciah- 

dangerous  opponent  than  the  man  who  has  but  a  zation. 

hazy  knowledge  in  many  directions.  Specialize; 
devote  your  time  and  energies  to  a  narrow  field  of 
endeavor  and  you  will  do  much,  even  if  you  are  not 
a  mental  Hercules. 

Not  even  weak  health  need  stand  in  the  way  of 
intellectual  conquest.  Wonderful  success  has  been  Weakhealth 
achieved  by  men  in  feeble  health.  Take  Parkman,  scholarship. 
Stevenson,  and  Pope  as  examples.  Francis  Park- 
man,  our  most  distinguished  historian,  continued  to 
work  when  too  weak  to  apply  himself  for  more  than 
five  minutes  at  a  time,  patiently  gathering  material 


20  HOW  TO  STUDY 

and  writing  out  or  dictating  those  fascinating  his- 
tories, volume  after  volume,  on  the  French  in  the 
New  World.  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  wrote  much 
in  bed,  too  sick  to  sit  up.  Pope  was  so  frail  that  he 
could  not  sit  at  his  desk  without  a  bandage  to 
hold  his  weak  body  erect.  Good  hope  and  con- 
fidence rise  superior  to  all  ills.  Nothing  could  daunt 
the  spirit  of  these  men.  It  cannot  be  proved  that 
the  life  of  one  of  them  was  cut  short  a  day  by  his 
intellectual  exertions.  Success  is  a  medicine  that 
often  more  than  cures  every  pain  that  accompanies 
hard  work. 

Summary.  Have  confidence  ! 

Lack  of  money,  ill  health,  slowness  o]  intellect  have 
been  no  harriers  to  great  achievement  in  the  case  of 
others. 

Think  of  what  you  have  already  won;  open  your 
mind  to  the  rich  world  of  thought  still  before  you  and 
have  confidence  that  you  can  conquer  it. 

Undertake  no  impossible  task. 

Try  to  do  what  is  reasonable;  and  with  happy- 
earnest  confidence,  go  forward  and  do  it. 


III.  Have  Fixed  Hours  for  Study  and 
Plunge  in  when  the  Hour  Comes 

Nothing  can  be  more  helpful  to  the  student  than 
to  set  certain  definite  hours  for  the  preparation  of  ?^|^.^/^j°^ 
definite  studies.     If  hours  are  fixed,  habit  steps  in  make  study 
and  makes  it  easy  to  begin  the  task  at  the  appointed  ^^^y. 
time.     In  fact,  if  the  habit  is  kept  up  long  enough, 
study  will  be  easier,  when  the  study  hour  comes, 
than  anything  else.     On  the  other  hand,  the  student 
who  has  no  fixed  program  of  study  outside  of  class 
wastes  every  day  an  enormous  amount  of  time  and 
energy  getting  himself  launched  in  his  work,  and  he 
always   risks   being   inadequately   prepared.    This 
statement  is  true  of  all  students,  and  especially  of 
the  young,  who  still  find  mental  work  irksome. 

William  James  says,  ''There  is  no  more  miser- 
able   human  being  than  one  in  whom  nothing  is  Unhappy 

,  ,  -  ,       1 .   ,    .        effect  of  in- 

habitual  but  indecison,  and  for  whom  the  lightmg  decision. 

of  every  cigar,  the  drinking  of  every  cup,  the  time 
of  rising  and  going  to  bed  every  day,  and  the 
beginning  of  every  bit  of  work,  are  subjects  of  ex- 
press volitional  deliberation.  Full  half  the  time  of 
such  a  man  goes  to  the  deciding,  or  regretting,  of 
matters  which  ought  to  be  so  ingrained  in  him  as 
practically  not  to  exist  for  his  consciousness  at  all. 
If  there  be  such  daily  duties  not  yet  ingrained  in 
any  one  of  my  readers,  let  him  begin  this  very  hour 
to  set  the  matter  right." 


2  2  HOW  TO  STUDY 

Did  you  ever  note  the  effect  of  fixed  habits  upon 

Habits  of      your  own  life?     For  seven  months  t  rose  every 
sleep. 

morning  at  4:30.     At  the  end  of  that  time,  the 

necessity  for  early  rising  having  passed,  I  endeav- 
ored to  sleep  till  six  o'clock,  but  found  I  could  not 
sleep  after  the  accustomed  hour  for  rising.  It 
took  me  weeks  to  acquire  the  new  habit.  A  friend 
of  mine,  while  in  college,  was  forced  for  nearly  two 
months  to  prepare  all  his  college  work  after  9:00 
P.M.  He  retired  at  two  o'clock  and  arose  at  6:30. 
When  it  again  became  possible  for  him  to  work 
by  day,  he  not  only  found  study  difl&cult,  but  was 
unable  to  go  to  sleep  before  two  in  the  morning. 
He  had  to  break  away  from  his  college  work 
altogether  for  a  time,  in  order  to  acquire  again  a 
normal  habit  of  sleep. 
There  are  students  who  are  in  the  habit  of  retir- 

The  effect  of  jj^g  at  no  fixed  hour.     If  some  excitement  attracts, 

irregular  tc    i  •        •      i    n      i 

habits  of        they  are  up  late.     If  the  evenmg  is  dull,  they  retire 

sleep  on         early.     They  go  to  bed  whenever  they  get  sleepy. 

study.  As  a  result,  they  find  it  almost  impossible  to  do 

any  effective  studying  in  the  evening.  They  are 
handicapped  by  somnolence  at  an  hour  when  their 
best  evening  work  should  be  done.  If  such  students, 
by  whatever  possible  means,  fix  the  habit  of  retiring 
at  ten  or  ten-thirty  every  night,  they  will  find  even- 
ing hours  an  excellent  time  for  quiet  study.  Per- 
sistent habit  will  soon  break  the  early  sleepiness. 
Nine  hours  of  sleep  are  enough  for  boys  and  girls 
in  high  school;   eight,  for  college  students. 

It  is  the  curse  of  irregular  hours  that  nature  can 
never  be  relied  upon  to  hold  a  man's  mind  efficient 


HAVE  FIXED   HOURS  FOR   STUDY        23 

when  efficiency  is  wanted.    The  young  man  who  is 

out  at  night  until  one  or  two  o'clock,  and  goes  to 

bed  the  next  night  at  eight-thirty  or  nine  to  make 

up  his  sleep,  can  never  succeed  as  a  student.    He 

can  never  be  sure  that  sleepiness  will  not  overtake 

him  early  on  the  third  night  as  well. 

Of  course  all  know  what  slaves  bad  habits  make 

of  those  who  get  accustomed  to  lying,  using  slang  or  Tdleness  a 

,      .  ,  ,.  tV       ,.  ,  bad  habit; 

profanity,  tobacco  or  liquor,  etc.     But  did  you  ever  industry  a 

realize  that  industry  is  a  habit  and  idleness  as  well?  good  one. 
Many  a  student  passes  among  teachers  and  class- 
mates as  a  person  of  weak  mentahty  when  he  is 
really  only  a  habitual  loafer.  It  has  been  my  good 
fortune  to  create  a  crisis  in  the  lives  of  some  of  these, 
as  a  result  of  which  they  broke  the  habit  of  idleness 
and  launched  the  habit  of  industry.  In  such  cases 
I  have  seen  a  record  of  failures  cease  and  give  way 
to  the  highest  marks  in  the  school.  Habits  are 
either  cruel  masters  or  powerful  allies,  according  as 
men  carelessly  yield  to  vicious  ones  or  thoughtfully 
accustom  themselves  to  those  which  are  helpful. 
The  loafer  is  not  happier  than  the  industrious  man; 
he  may  be  an  idler  simply  because  he  has  become 
carelessly  fixed  in  that  bad  habit,  and  is  quite  un- 
conscious that  he  is  indulging  in  ore  of  the  seven 
deadly  sins. 
The  first  thing  that  you  as  a  student  should  do 

is  to  habituate  yourself  to  fixed  hours  of  study.  ^']^^^  hours 

of  study 
Have  definite  hours  for  definite  work  and  don't  make  for 

let  the  hour  go  by  unemployed.     In  the  course  of  f^ccess  and 

.  1  ,1  1.1  ,      happiness, 

a  few  weeks  you  can  scarcely  do  anything  but  study 

w^hen  the  hour  comes.    Haphazard  students,  who 


24  HOW  TO  STUDY 

study  a  lesson  one  day  at  one  hour  and  another 
day  at  another,  frequently  fail  to  study  at  all. 
For  them  it  is  just  as  hard  to  settle  down  to  work 
at  the  last  as  it  was  at  the  first.  The  work  gets  no 
easier;  they  are  always  behindhand,  hurried,  and 
worried  by  unfinished  work. 

It  is  well  to  fill  out  a  complete  program  of  recita- 

Typical         tJQn  and  study  hours  at  the  beginning  of  the  term. 

study  pro-      ^  i        .     ,  •   i        i       ,     , 

gram.  Suppose  that  m  high  school  there  are  seven  recita- 

tion periods,  for  five  of  which  you  are  in  class,  as, 
for  instance,  the  following: 
9  :  oo    A.M.     Algebra 

9:45       "  

10 :  30      "  English 

11:15      "  1 — 

1  :oo    P.M.  Latin 
1:45       "  History 

2  :  30-3  : 1 5  Physical  Training  and  Art. 

The  9:45  period  should  be  devoted  to  the  study 
of  algebra.  Just  after  the  recitation  the  explana- 
tions will  be  remembered  and  the  assignment  clear. 
Interest  will  be  at  a  higher  pitch  and  the  work  can 
be  done  with  less  effort  than  at  a  subsequent  time. 
For  the  same  reasons  the  11:15  period  should  be 
given  to  the  study  of  English  in  preparation  for 
the  following  day's  recitation.  If  there  are  library 
references  to  be  looked  up  in  history,  this  work 
should  be  done  directly  after  school  hours. 

A  good  program  of  home  study  would  be  as  follows: 

7  :  30-  8  :  00,  Latin, 

8  ;  10-  8  :  30,  Complete  the  Algebra  preparation- 
8:40-  9  :3o,  History 

9:40-10:00,  Latin. 


HAVE  FIXED   HOURS  FOR  STUDY        25 

The  following  morning  — 

8  :  30-  8  :  50,  Review  History,  English,  and  Latin.       • 

Your  schedule  of  study  hours  should  be  just  as 

fixed  and  definite  as  your  schedule  of  recitations,  Fixed  hours 
,  ,    ,  ,11  •  .  .  „         rr,,       of  study  and 

and   should  be   adhered  to  just  as  rigidly.     The  irregular 

objection  will  be  made  that  it  does  not  always  assign- 
.         ,  1         ,       r     .  1       ments. 

require  the  same  length  of  time   to  prepare  the 

lessons  in  a  given  subject,  some  preparations  requir- 
ing much  less  than  the  average  time  and  others  more. 
When  the  lesson  requires  less  time,  there  will  be 
more  opportunity  to  review  or  to  look  ahead  in 
anticipation  of  a  longer  lesson  on  the  morrow. 
When  a  longer  lesson  has  been  assigned  than  the 
student  can  get  in  the  reasonable  time  assigned  for 
study,  he  should  feel  free  to  tell  his  instructor 
frankly  that  he  had  not  time  to  prepare  it  because 
the  assignment  was  too  long. 

Further  objection  may  be  made  to  the  program 

of  home  work  on  the  ground  that  it  keeps  the  stu-  Individual 
1  1  •  1,1       circum- 

dent  up  too  late  or  necessitates  too  much  work  by  stances 

lamplight.     If  it  is  preferred,  one  hour's  work  may  should  gov- 
1       r        •       ,        f  T       ,  1  .  -^    em    the 

be  done  in  the  afternoon.  In  that  case  the  evening  study  pro- 
work  will  be  completed  by  nine  o'clock.  If  the  8^^"^- 
family  has  an  early  breakfast,  an  hour  may  be  taken 
from  the  evening  study  and  added  to  the  morning 
before  school.  Yet  another  possibility  is  to  take 
four  hours  on  Saturday  for  preparing  in  some  subject 
an  entire  week's  work  in  advance;  in  history,  Eng- 
lish, or  translation  this  can  easily  be  done.  A  few 
minutes'  review  each  day  will  then  be  all  that  is 
required.    Thus  the  individual  program  may  vary 


26  HOW  TO  STUDY 

in  many  ways  to  accord  with  individual  prefer- 
^  ences.  The  important  points  are  that  a  liberal 
allowance  of  time  be  given,  and  that  the  program 
once  made  be  rigidly  followed,  at  least  until  inter- 
est reenforces  habit  or  makes  strict  hours  less 
necessary.  If  other  business  requires  punctual 
and  regular  attention,  why  should  not  the  impor- 
tant business  of  studying? 

Suppose  a  college  man  has  a  week's  program  of 
lectures  and  recitations  as  follows: 

Monday  Tuesday     Wednesday     Thursday       Friday 

Q-io    German  German  German        German  German 

lo-ii     Mathematics  Math.  Math.  Math.  Math. 

1-2      History  Economics     History       Economics  History 

3-4      Phys.  Tr.  Military  D.    Phys.  Tr.  -  M.  Drill  Phys.  Tr. 

The  periods  of  study  and  preparation  may  be 
assigned  as  follows: 

1 1 :  oo-i  2 :  00,  Study  German. 
2 :  00-  3 :  00,  Study  Mathematics. 

7 :  30-  8 :  30,  Study  History  or  Economics. 
8:30-  9:30,  Study  Mathematics. 
9:30-10:30,  Study  German. 

The  following  morning  — 

8 :  00-  9 :  00,  Study  History  and  Economics. 

Of  course  there  will  be  ten  minutes  of  rest  and 

Further         relaxation  from  time  to  time  and  especially  be- 
comment  on  , .  rx^i  .  •  •  -, 

this  study      tween  studies.     This  program  anticipates  no  study 

program.        ^^  q\[  q^  Saturday.    If  six  or  eight  hours  are  devoted 

to  study  on  Saturday,  the  program  of  work  during 

the  five  days  inay  be  considerably  shortened,  and 

in  most  instances  this  would  be  highly  desirable. 

Mental  efficiency  demands  complete  rest  one  day 


HAVE  FIXED   HOURS   FOR   STUDY        27 

in  seven.  You  will  notice  that  in  the  college 
man's  program  the  hours  of  greatest  efficiency,  in 
both  morning  and  afternoon,  are  devoted  to  lectures 
and  recitation;  and  that  the  climax  of  power  in 
the  evening  comes  at  the  hour  devoted  to  mathe- 
matics. Some  persons  vary  somewhat  from  this 
norm  in  their  curve  of  mental  efficiency.  Those  who 
eat  an  early  and  light  breakfast  may  find  the  hour 
from  eight  to  nine  well  suited  to  their  hardest  study. 
The  use  of  the  mind  is  as  instinctive  as  the  use 

of  the  body.    That  which  is  instinctive  is  also  agree-  Plunging  in 
.  ,        ___,  ,  1    •     r  .  I     1  1         ^"d  warm- 

able.     When  once  the  work  is  fairly  begun,  when   ing  to  the 

your  mind  is  "  limbered  up  "  and  you  are  warmed  to  ^°''^- 
the  work,  study  will  not  seem  so  tedious  as  it  did  in 
contemplation  before  you  began.  You  have  seen 
a  group  of  boys  at  the  old  swimming  hole/ shiver- 
ing for  a  moment  on  the  bank  because  the  water 
below  looks  cold.  Presently  one  plunges  in  and 
cries,  "Come  on,  fellows,  it's  dandy!"  Another 
boy  puts  in  first  one  foot,  then  the  other,  and  wades 
slowly  out  with  a  shudder  at  every  step.  It  is  a 
long  time  before  he  begins  to  enjoy  the  swim.  In 
your  studies  be  like  the  hardy  swimmer  who  plunges 
in  at  once.  Don't  stand  shivering  on  the  bank. 
You  will  find  the  work  less  difficult  and  much  more 
enjoyable.  More  than  that,  you  will  accustom 
yourself  to  habits  of  promptness  and  industry  that 
will  carry  you  through  many  a  struggle  without  the 
loss  of  energy  that  comes  from  indecision.  You 
will  do  your  work  without  so  great  effort  of  the  will. 

Have  fixed  hours  for  study,  and  plunge  in  when  the  Summary. 
hour  comes. 


IV.   Begin  by  Recalling  What  you 

ALREADY   KnOW 

New  ideas  and  facts  are  not  easily  grasped  unless 

Value  of  the  there  are  already  present  in  the  mind  other  facts 

appercep- 
live  mass."    which  are  more  or  less  related  to  the  new.     We 

cannot  readily  assimilate  that  which  has  no  bearing 
upon  what  we  already  know.  In  fact,  the  mind  can 
with  difficulty  give  attention  to  thought  material 
which  is  wholly  novel;  for  it  can  get  no  grip  on 
that  which  does  not  relate  to  our  present  stock  of 
knowledge.  It  is  one  of  the  advantages  of  a  liberal 
education  that  the  expanding  mind  comes  to  have 
some  knowledge  and  interest  in  every  direction. 
Such  expansion  of  knowledge  and  extension  of  in- 
terest act  to  strengthen  the  attention  and  add  still 
further  to  the  interest.  Attention  is  stronger  in 
the  adult  than  in  the  young;  in  the  learned  than  in 
the  ignorant.  The  more  we  know,  the  more  easily 
can  we  acquire  more  knowledge. 

However  slender  your  stock  of  knowledge  may  be, 

Recalling       yQ^  should  make  use  of  what  you  have  in  acquiring 
the  previous   "^  ,^  .,     ,       .     /  n-  i 

lesson.  more.     You  can  easily  begm  by  recallmg  what  you 

have  learned  before  on  the  subject  or  lesson  in 
hand.  For  instance,  in  history,  first  go  back  to  the 
previous  lesson  and  recall  what  you  studied  and 
what  was  brought  out  in  class.  You  will  begin  to 
wonder  how  certain  events  are  to  turn  out.  Curios- 
ity will  become  active.     You  will  get  a  purpose  for 


RECALL  WHAT  YOU  KNOW  29 

going  further,  a  live  interest.     The  purpose  will 

make  further  reading  far  more  effective,  as  well 

as  easier  and  more  pleasant. 

It  is  well  to  look  at  the  general  topics  of  the  new 

lesson  and  then  recall  whether  you  have  ever  learned  Recalling 

...  ,  .11  ideas  related 

anythmg  from  any  source  whatever,  m  school  or  to  the  lesson 

out,  about  these  topics.  In  the  light  of  the  pre-  *^°P^*^- 
vious  lesson  and  of  what  you  have  learned  elsewhere, 
imagine  the  general  content  of  the  new  material 
for  study;  think  what  it  will  be  about;  in  the  his- 
tory lesson,  think  what  events  will  result  from  what 
you  already  know.  Now  read  to  satisfy  your  mind. 
This  method  of  work  is  not  fanciful  nor  merely 

theoretical.    Some  of  the  greatest  minds  among  the  y^^^e    of 

*',,,,  *'.      ,    this  method, 

most  emment  statesmen  and  scholars  have  practiced 

it.     John  Morley,  Daniel  Webster,  Lord  Strafford, 

and  Noah  Porter  are  examples.     They  had  a  way 

of  recalling  the  related  old  before  reading  the  new 

—  a  way  which  the  known  principles  of  psychology 

now  approve,  a  way  which  must  result  in  increased 

interest  and  attention.     It  strengthens  the  memory; 

for  it  makes  recall  of  the  new  material  quicker  and 

more    certain.     It    fastens    the    new    thought    to 

thoughts  which  you  can  already  recall,  and  gives  to 

it  almost  as  great  ease  of  recurrence.     If  you  can 

recall  A,  and  B  is  associated  in  your  mind  with  A, 

then  you  can  recall  B  also. 

Nothing  in  the  mind  exists  unrelated.     Whatever 

is  there  has  been  introduced  by  something  else  that  Relate  the 
•11     1  1  •         i-i-.il  rx^i     ■  new  to  the 

will  always  be  associated  with  it  in  thought.     The  old. 

mind  tends  to  recall  the  one  thing  when  it  recalls 

the  other.     Facts  that  have  the  greatest  number 


so 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


Controlling 
the  stream 
of  conscious- 
ness. 


Growth  in 
power  of 
recall  and 
consequent 
value  of 
studies. 


of  associations  are  the  most  readily  recalled.  Those 
that  are  most  isolated  are  most  difficult  to  remem- 
ber.    Memory  demands  the  association  of  ideas. 

It  is  not  for  the  sake  of  memory  alone  that  you 
should  recall  what  you  have  previously  learned 
before  undertaking  to  read  or  study  further  on  the 
same  subject.  Efforts  to  recall  will  help  to  give 
command  of  yourself,  of  your  inner  life,  or  stream 
of  consciousness.  Often  other  and  more  interest- 
ing ideas  will  rise  and  take  the  place  of  that  which 
you  wish  to  study  or  hold  before  your  mind.. 
Thoughts  of  other  things  will  come  between  you 
and  the  difficult  reading  you  wish  to  do.  In  such 
cases  little  reliance  can  be  placed  upon  the  will. 
Voluntary  attention,  as  has  been  said,  gives  con- 
trol for  only  a  few  seconds  at  a  time  and  at  the  cost 
of  exhausting  effort.  You  become  disgusted  with 
work  done  so  painfully,  and  are  likely  to  lose  con- 
fidence in  yourself.  But  when  such  a  period  of 
recalling,  such  a  warming-up  process  as  has  been 
described  above,  precedes  the  reading,  then  the  mind 
can  be  held  much  more  attentively  fixed  upon  the 
work  in  hand.     There  is  a  gain  in  mental  control. 

When  the  practice  of  recalling  before  reading 
shall  have  been  kept  up  for  some  time,  you  will 
marvel  at  the  facility  which  you  have  acquired. 
At  first  without  the  stimulus  of  teacher  and  class  it 
will  be  almost  impossible  to  remember  the  previous 
lesson.  You  will  find  yourself  stealing  a  look 
in,to  the  text  in  order  to  get  started.  As  days  go 
by  you  will  recall  more  and  more  of  the  previous 
lessons.  '  The  subject  matter,  instead  of  being  car- 


RECALL   WHAT  YOU   KNOW  31 

ried  to  the  threshold  of  memory  and  then  pushed 

off  into  the  limbo  of  forgotten  things,  will  become 

alive;  it  will  become  a  subject  of  thought  on  which 

you  will  ponder  in  leisure  hours  and  of  which  you 

will  speak  when  you  walk  and  talk  with  friends. 

It  is  necessary  in  study  to  have  general  purposes 

that  spur  one  seriously  to  make  the  first  efforts.  Recall  gives 

^  "^  immediate 

You  must  have  such  good  reasons  for  study  as  were  purposes  in 

considered  under  the  caption,  ''Know  that  your  study, 
work  is  worth  while."  ^  It  is  quite  as  necessary  to 
have  immediate  objects  and  purposes  in  preparing 
each  specific  assignment.  You  may  know  in  general 
that  you  ought  to  study,  yet  fail  to  do  so  because 
you  lack  an  immediate  purpose.  Such  a  purpose 
will  be  secured  by  recalling  what  you  already  know 
before  reading  further;  and  this  purpose  will  be 
your  own.  It  may  come  to  you  in  the  form  of  a 
problem,  suggested  by  natural  curiosity  —  a  prob- 
lem for  which  you  will  desire  to  find  a  solution  by 
further  study.  Again,  a  question  may  arise  in  your 
mind  which  you  will  desire  to  answer  by  reading  on. 
Aimless  study  is  about  the  weakest  thing  imagi- 
nable. Purposeful  study  is  the  parent  of  all  progress 
and  invention. 

In  order  to  put  yourself  in  full  possession  of  your 
faculties  when  you  begin  to  study  ^  warm  up  to  your  work    Summary. 
by  recalling  what  you  already  know  on  the  subject. 

Recalling  will  make  the  work  more  purposeful  and 
interesting,  will  increase  your  power  of  attention,  and 
will  help  you  both  to  understand  and  to  remember  what 
you  read. 

^  See  pages  5-10. 


V.   First  Study  the  Lesson  as  a  Whole; 

THEN   GO   BACK  TO   DIFFICULTIES 

Mu,ch  time  may  be  gained  in  the  preparation  of 

Useful  2i  lesson  if  it  is  first  studied  as  a  whole.     Knowledge 

knowledge        ,  .  .  _,  . 

is  related.      does  not  exist  as  separate  units.     Facts  cannot  be 

regarded  as  so  many  distinct  pebbles  that  may  be 
dropped  into  the  mind  one  at  a  time.  The  jewels 
of  thought  are  not  solitaires;  they  may  be  likened, 
rather,  to  a  string  of  pearls.  You  cannot  attempt 
to  store  them  in  your  mind,  one  by  one,  without 
losing  many  and  destroying  the  beauty  and  sig- 
nificance of  all. 

Observe  the  workings  of  your  own  mind.     Notice 

It   is   more  ]^q^.    when  you  think  of  one  thing,  another  idea 
easily  re-  ,  .  ,    .     .  i        i         •  i 

membered  if  which  IS  m  some  way  related  to  it  comes  presently 

the  rela-        jj^^q  yo^j.  mind.   If  the  relationship  is  clear  when  the 
seen.  facts  are  studied,  they  will  be  easily  remembered. 

Each  fact  will  help  you  to  remember  the  others 
related  to  it.  Contrasts,  similarities,  relations  of 
cause  and  effect,  of  nearness  in  place  and  time  — 
these  are  the  more  usual  relations  that  connect  one 
idea  with  another.  The  thought  will  be  more 
easily  remembered  if  the  assignment  is  studied  as 
a  whole  rather  than  by  parts;  for  only  so  can  the 
connecting  relations  be  seen. 

Thus  the  government  and  the  social  life  of  Athens 
Examples  of  become  clearer  and  more  easily  remembered  by  con- 
trasting them  with  those  of  Sparta.     The  flora  and 


STUDY  THE  LESSON  AS  A  WHOLE       33 

fauna  of  any  region  are  more  easily  grasped  by  com- 
parison with  those  of  other  regions  that  have  similar 
climatic  conditions.  The  American  Revolution 
becomes  far  more  significant  and  its  details  easier 
to  recall,  if  we  know  its  causes  and  results  as  well 
as  the  chain  of  events  that  brought  it  to  a  conclu- 
sion. The  historical  events  that  preceded  and  at- 
tended a  literary  period  give  meaning  to  that  period. 
In  earth  study,  the  gorge  and  the  waterfall  can  be 
easily  understood  when  other  effects  of  erosion  are 
studied  at  the  same  time.  Examples  of  the  bene- 
fits of  association  of  ideas  by  firgt  studying  the 
whole  may  be  multiplied  in  every  school  subject. 
The  recollection  of  one  of  these  associated  ideas  will 
bring  to  mind  the  other  related  facts  and  all  will 
gain  in  clearness  by  the  association. 

To    study    without    understanding    is    to    learn 

words,  not  thoughts.     When  the  relations  are  seen.  Learning 
lit.,  1       T^  1  sentence  by 

the  thought  is  understood.     Every  one  has  seen  sentence 

young  children  poring  over  a  sentence  and  then  difficult  and 

.       .  r,  ,  ,  .  unprofit- 

repeatmg  it  word  by  word,  over  and  over  again,  to  able. 

memorize  it.  This  is  an  exceedingly  long  and  la- 
borious way  of  acquiring  knowledge.  It  takes  very 
much  longer  to  learn  by  repeating  sentences  than 
it  does  by  repeating  the  whole  assignment.  And 
when  the  assignment  has  been  memorized  sentence 
by  sentence,  there  is  very  great  danger  that  it  will 
not  be  in  the  least  understood;  in  which  case  the 
learning  is  worse  than  useless. 

Furthermore,  learning  sentence  by  sentence  takes  ^  f^^  W*^ 
.      ,  ,         ,  <.  of  the  whole 

no    account  of    the  unequal   values    of    sentences,   values  are 

Some  single  sentences  have  the  thought  of  a  whole  ^^^"' 


34 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


Method 
applied  in 
translating. 


paragraph  packed  into  them.  Others  are  merely 
transitional  or  introductory,  and  serve  only  as  sign 
posts  to  point  the  thought  on  toward  the  really 
significant  thing  which  is  coming  in  a  later  sentence. 
Some  sentences  merely  repeat  in  other  words  or  sum 
up  what  was  said  in  a  previous  sentence  or  sentences. 
In  the  light  of  the  whole,  the  inequality  of  values  is 
clearly  seen;  and  then  the  mind  hurries  over  the 
unimportant  and  dwells  on  that  which  is  truly 
significant. 

When  the  whole  has  once  been  read,  a  second 
reading  becomes  full  of  meaning.  The  thought 
plays  over  and  around  each  sentence  as  you  read, 
bringing  light  from  the  whole  lesson  with  which  to 
illumine  and  explain  each  part.  You  read  between 
the  lines,  reflecting  as  you  read  upon  the  similari- 
ties and  contrasts  and  upon  the  relations  of  cause 
and  effect.  All  this  work  adds  to  the  interest  and 
gives  power  of  attention,  which  ''is  the  mother  of 
memory." 

In  the  translation  of  an  assignment  of  work  in 
a  foreign  language,  your  first  step  after  recalling 
the  content  of  the  previous  lesson  should  be  to 
endeavor  to  get  the  author's  drift  by  reading  the 
whole  assignment  or  a  considerable  part  of  it  at  sight. 
In  the  light  of  the  whole,  go  back  and  look  up  the 
new  words.  You  will  quickly  see  the  special  meaning 
of  a  new  word  when  you  have  the  general  thought 
of  the  passage  to  guide  you.  Without  a  first  rapid 
survey  of  the  whole,  you  are  likely  to  choose  the 
wrong  translation,  for  many  a  word  has  widely 
divergent  meanings;  and  your  progress  will  be  slow, 


STUDY  THE  LESSON  AS  A  WHOLE         35 

for  you  will  flounder  along  in  confusion  and  doubt 
if  you  have  not  first  seen  the  general  drift  of  the 
thought. 

In  the  study  of  history  it  is  especially  important 
to  study  by  wholes.  It  will  be  found  that  part  is  ^.  "i^kes 
related  to  part;  and  the  significance  of  each  will  more 
be  seen  in  its  relation  to  the  rest.  History  lessons  interesting, 
should  be  studied  by  the  topical  method,  even  if 
some  topics  are  too  long  for  one  day's  recitation. 
I  know  a  young  man  whose  history  work  gains  in- 
terest and  power  from  the  fact  that  for  hours  on 
Saturday  of  each  week  he  reads  far  in  advance  of 
the  class.  Naturally  enough  he  enjoys  this  read- 
ing. When  very  short  sections  of  either  history  or 
literature  are  read  at  intervals  of  a  day,  the  rela- 
tion of  part  to  part  is  often  not  sufficiently  evi- 
dent to  make  interesting  reading.  The  student 
loses  the  connection,  and  is  almost  forced  to  fall 
back  on  the  process  of  memory  cramming. 

Even  in  mathematics  it  is  a  mistake  not  to  look 

over  the  whole  lesson  before  beginning  the  solu-  Applicable 
11  -1,    ,       r         ,  .         ,  to  mathe- 

tions.     Some  problems  will  be  found  easier  than  matics. 

others,   and  should  be   solved  first,  whether  they 

come  first  or  last   in   the   text.     The  power  and 

insight  gained  by  solving  them  may  be  sufficient  to 

enable  you  to  solve  those  which  at  first  were  found 

too  difficult.     I  have  known  pupils  to  "get  stuck" 

upon  the  second  or  third  problem  of  a  lesson,  and 

lose  all  their  time  on  it  without  even  taking  a  look 

at  problems   farther  on  which  might   have   been 

solved  with  httle  effort. 

It  is   especially  valuable  in  all  examinations  to 


36  HOW  TO  STUDY 

go  over  the  whole  paper  and  answer  first  the  ques- 
tions to  which  answers  and  solutions  readily  occur 
to  you.  Thus  a  larger  portion  of  the  questions 
will  have  been  answered  in  the  given  time. 

What  is  true  of  language,  literature,  history,  and 
mathematics  is  equally  true  of  each  of  the  sciences. 
These  should  also  be  mastered  as  wholes  rather  than 
as  parts.  In  science  the  data  are  related  to  general 
laws,  and  many  of  the  laws  are  interrelated.  Read- 
ing ahead  to  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  what  is  com- 
ing will  often  render  rich  returns  of  insight  and 
interest. 

In  memorizing  a  poem  of  even  two  or  three  pages 
Learning  by  [^  length,  much  time  can  be  saved  by  repeating  the 
poem  from  beginning  to  end,  and  much  wasted 
by  repeating  individual  stanzas  or  lines.  Make  no 
mistakes  in  the  first  reading,  for  every  mistake  tends 
to  repeat  itself.  Care  should  be  taken  to  go  slowly; 
later  repetitions  may  be  the  faster  and  surer  because 
of  early  care  and  accuracy. 

To  sum  up,  endeavor  to  follow  the  law  of  associa- 
Summary.      ^^^^  qJ  i^eas;  try  to  relate  knowledge  as  you  acquire  it. 

In  order  to  further  this  end,  study  by  wholes  rather 
than  by  parts. 

Go  back  to  special  difficulties  and  solve  them  in 
the  light  of  the  whole. 

Then  go  over  the  lesson  again  as  a  whole  and  read 
into  every  part  the  significance  given  it  by  the  previous 
general  survey. 


VI.     Use  Multiple  Imagery  in  Study 

Teachers  often  advise  pupils  to  learn  comentralion. 
By  this  they  mean  that  you  should  learn  to  hold  ^q^  ^^ 
your  attention  on  the  work  in  hand,  not  allowing  learn  to 
the  mind  to  wander.     In  hard,  dry  reading  concen-  concentrate, 
tration  is  difficult.     You  see  the  words;  but  most 
of  the  time  you  are  really  thinking  of  something  else. 
It  will  help  you  to  bridge  the  difficuly  if  you  use 
other  forms  of  studying  besides  that  of  merely  see- 
ing,—  other  sense  organs  besides  those  of  sight.     At 
home  you  might  read  the  passage  aloud.    Moreover, 
you  will  always  be  helped  by  writing  an  outline  or 
paraphrase  of  the  passage. 

All  during  waking  hours  there  passes   through 

the  mind  a  stream  of  consciousness.     The  thought   "The 

11-  1        •  ,     stream  of 

runs  on  from  one  related  thmg  to  another  m  end-  conscious- 
less  succession.  Many  thought  images  are  re-  "^ss." 
jected  at  once  by  the  will,  while  others  are  chosen 
for  further  consideration.  Especially  recurrent  in 
the  stream  of  consciousness  are  thoughts  of  those 
things  that  interest  us.  Interesting  thoughts  come 
back  again  and  again,  while  the  uninteresting  can 
scarcely  get  attention.  Sometimes  in  the  stream 
is  a  strain  of  music,  a  popular  song;  sometimes 
pictures  of  things  seen;  and  sometimes  mere  feel- 
ings. Often  one  is  conscious  of  a  succession  of 
spoken  words  heard  within  him.  All  these  are 
called  thought  images  or  mental  imagery,  whether 
they  repeat  things  perceived  by  eye  and  ear,  or 
things  felt. 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


It  tends  to 
flow  in  inde- 
pendent 
channels  in 
hard  read- 


Mental  im- 
agery, audi- 
tory, visual, 
and  motor. 


Now  this  stream  of  consciousness  goes  on  when 
you  study.  If  you  have  a  body  of  knowledge  or 
experience  related  to  that  about  which  you  are 
reading,  the  stream  will  play  about  the  author's 
thought,  expanding,  explaining,  testing,  or  illus- 
trating it;  in  this  way,  of  course,  you  are  greatly 
aided  in  understanding  what  you  study.  So  we 
insist  that  you  begin  your  study  by  recalling  what 
you  have  already  learned.  But  very  often  with 
young  students  there  is  no  body  of  knowledge  al- 
ready present  in  the  mind  to  flow  along  as  directed 
by  the  reading ;  and  when  such  knowledge  is  lacking 
there  is  great  likelihood  that  consciousness  will 
flow  in  independent  channels  and  completely  shut 
out  the  author.  Thus  other  thoughts,  more  insist- 
ent and  backed  by  a  vigorous  memory,  may  rise 
and  come  between  you  and  your  work.  In  that 
case  it  is  far  easier  to  hold  attention  on  the  text  when 
you  pronounce  the  words  aloud. 

There  is  another  reason  for  reading  aloud:  you 
can  remember  better  what  you  read.  The  stream 
of  consciousness  described  above  will  be  recognized 
as  the  activity  of  memory.  It  is  clear  from  what 
has  been  said  that  there  is  a  memory  for  sounds. 
This  may  come  to  predominate  in  some  minds,  es- 
pecially in  that  of  the  actor,  clergyman,  or  public 
speaker,  much  of  whose  consciousness  is  likely  to 
be  haunted  by  the  memory  of  spoken  words.  The 
musician's  mind,  by  the  same  token,  will  be  haunted 
by  the  sound  of  tunes.  The  builder,  artist,  archi- 
tect, or  engineer  may  find  that  his  stream  of  con- 
sciousness is  largely  made  up  of  things  seen.    While 


USE   MULTIPLE   IMAGERY  39 

all  who  speak  or  sing  or  use  their  hands  with 
skill  will  have  in  sensations  from  the  muscles  of 
throat,  fingers,  etc.,  a  motor  reflex,  which  is  the 
memor>'  of  things  done.  This  last  form  of  memory, 
called  ynolor  imagery,  is  quite  as  important  as  any 
of  the  others;  though  it  may  act  more  automati- 
cally, so  that  we  are  as  a  result  less  conscious  of  it. 
Consider  how  the  pianist  memorizes  the  execution 
of  long  and  difficult  compositions.  Memory  acts  so 
powerfully  that  he  remembers  and  repeats  difficult 
fingering  without  conscious  effort.  Not  less  wonder- 
ful is  the  memory  of  tensions  in  the  vocal  chords 
acquired  by  trained  singers. 

By  studying  aloud  you  can  make  use  of  the  motor 

memory,  while  at  the  same  time  you  are  making  Studying 

,,',-.  .  °   aloud   gives 

channels  for  the  subject  matter  to  connect  with  multiple  im- 

the  visual  and  the  auditory  memory-tracts.  A  few  ^g^ry. 
words  of  explanation  may  be  necessary  here.  Cer- 
tain areas  or  tracts  on  the  outer  surface  of  the  brain 
are  centers  for  impulses  from  certain  external 
organs.  Different  areas  receive  and  send  out 
special  sense  or  motor  impulses.  Thus  there  is  a 
center  that  connects  with  organs  of  sight,  another 
with  organs  of  hearing,  and  there  is  a  third  center 
for  motor  and  touch  impulses.  Associated  with 
each  is  a  region  that  retains,  works  over,  and  gets 
ideas  from  these  impulses  or  sensations. 

Sometimes  one   center   is  more  highly   efficient 
than  another  in  the  same  brain.     Sometimes  acci-  ^^^^ect    of 
dent  or  disease  takes  away  all  efficiency  from  a  agery  on 
center;  as  when  a  person,  still  able  to  understand  memory, 
words  that  he  hears,  loses  the  power  to  get  ideas 


40  HOW  TO  STUDY 

from  the  words  he  sees  on  a  printed  page.  When 
the  visual  center  is  highly  efficient,  the  person  is 
said  to  be  eye-minded.  Other  persons  are  ear- 
minded  or  motor-minded.  It  is  seldom  if  ever  true 
that  people  are  exclusively  eye-minded,  ear-minded, 
or  motor-minded.  Memory  acts  by  all  these  paths 
according  as  the  original  sensation  comes  to  us. 
The  ability  to  recall  a  thing  will  he  greatly  increased 
if  all  three  forms  of  imagery  —  the  visual,  atiditory, 
and  motor  —  are  employed. 

In   the  study  of  foreign  languages,   ancient  as 

Especially      ^^ij  g^s  modern,  it  is  especially  important  to  study 
valuable   m     ,,,..-,.  .  , 

learning  a     aloud.     In   fact,   the   development   of   motor   and 

foreign  auditory  imagery  is  often  the  key  to  success.     In 

tongue.  ,  r     1  1  r 

the  case  of  language  the  memory  for  words  acts 

more  naturally  through  sound  channels  than  through 

those   of   sight.     It  has   been  well   said  that  the 

true  word  is  the  spoken  word;    and  that  its  real 

significance  can  never  be  learned  except  through 

the  medium  of  speech.     Appreciation  of  style  as 

revealed    by    rhythm    is    impossible    without    the 

sound.     Therefore,  in  learning  a  language,  it  should 

be  read  aloud.     Again  and  again  read  aloud  in  the 

foreign  tongue. 

Whatever  the  subject,  if  the  recitation  is  to  be 

Studying       qj^  Q^al  one,  students  will  find  it  especially  helpful 
aloud  pre- 
pares best      to  read  the  lesson  aloud.     End  the  study  of  a  pas- 

for  oral  reel-  gg^gg  q{  Latin  by  translating  it  aloud.     It  will  make 

translation  in  class  doubly  sure.     History,  English, 

rhetoric,  science,   any  subject  —  if  hard  or  if  an 

oral  recitation  is  to  follow  —  will  be  more  easily 

learned  by  studying  it  aloud  or  with  lips  moving. 


USE   MULTIPLE   IMAGERY  41 

In  learning  a  language  and  in  very  hard  readings 
study  aloud  {at  home)  or  with  the  lips  moving  {in  Summary 
school)  y  and  in  all  your  work  endeavor  to  use  auditory 
and  motor  as  well  as  visual  imagery,  in  order,  (/)  to 
strengthen  attention  and  hold  the  mind  upon  the  work 
in  hafid,  and  (2)  in  order  to  strengthen  the  memory  by 
providing  more  mediums  for  recall. 


VII.  Practice  Recall  as  you  Study;   and  in 
Drill  Work  Repeat  at  Increasing  Intervals 


Recall  of 
previous 
lesson. 


Recall   dur- 
ing   study. 


This  gives 
understand- 
ing and  con- 
centration. 


You  have  seen  the  value  of  recalling  what  was 
learned  at  the  previous  recitation  and  elsewhere 
on  the  topic  assigned,  before  you  begin  the  study  of 
the  topic  or  assignment.  This  recall  was  for  two 
purposes,  (i)  to  use  this  material  as  hooks  on  which 
to  fasten  the  new  knowledge,  and  (2)  to  allow  the 
mind  to  create  a  purpose  for  study  through  curios- 
ity and  natural  interest,  so  that  the  attention  will 
be  stronger. 

From  time  to  time  during  the  process  of  study 
there  should  be  brief  periods  of  recall  at  which  the 
material  you  have  just  read  is  quickly  reviewed. 
The  purpose  of  such  a  period  is  also  two-fold:  in 
the  first  place,  it  enables  you  to  test  the  efficiency 
of  your  attention  during  the  reading,  by  asking 
whether  you  are  really  getting  the  thought;  and  in 
the  second  place,  it  helps  you  to  make  what  you 
study  available  for  future  use  by  fixing  it  more 
securely  in  the  memory. 

There  is  no  better  way  to  find  out  whether  words 
are  being  seen  without  their  thought  content,  or 
meaning,  than  by  pausing  from  time  to  time  to 
recall  the  thought.  No  effort  should  be  made  to 
recall  the  exact  wording.  Instead,  a  conscious 
effort  should  be  made  to  frame  the  author's  thought 
without  regard  to  his  words.  Such  a  test  is  search- 
ing and  calls  for  vigor  of  intellect.    It  will  be  found 


PRACTICE  RECALL  AS  YOU  STUDY   43 

wearisome,  especially  at  first,  to  those  who  have 

never  practiced  it.    But  be  assured  there  is  no  other 

method  half  so  valuable  in  acquiring  the  power  of 

concentration,    which    is    the    key    to    successful 

scholarship. 

How  many  a  student  in  high  school  and  in  college 

thinks  he  is  studying  when  really  he  is  only  reading  Frequent 

•     .        1  -1         1  .      waste  of 

words!     He  comes  to  a  quiz  m  philosophy  or  m  time  in 

political  economy  only  to  find  that  the  hours  he  ^^^^y  ^}^h- 
has  spent  in  reading  have  availed  him  nothing.  He 
cannot  even  remember  the  words,  while  of  course 
he  had  never  really  reached  the  thought  back  of  the 
words.  The  habit  of  stopping  to  recall  may  seem 
at  first  wasteful,  but  in  the  end  it  is  by  far  the  quick- 
est way  to  learn.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  when  it  is 
acquired  early  in  a  high  school  or  college  course,  it 
saves  much  of  the  student's  time.  If  persisted  in 
there  comes  at  last  such  power  of  concentration 
that  in  a  single  reading  the  trained  mind  learns 
more  than  the  untrained  learns  in  half  a  dozen 
readings. 
There  are  or  should  be  limitations  to  the  use  of 

the  method  of  frequent  recall.     It  need  not  be  used  Especially 

...  ,.  -  1       X-.      1-  1     valuable    in 

at  all  in  easy  reading;  as,  for  example,  I^nglish  hard  read- 
literature.  It  is  the  reading  of  unfamiliar,  abstract,  ^"S- 
abstruse  thought  that  needs  frequent  testing.  And 
bear  in  mind,  also,  that  pauses  should  occur  only  at 
divisions  of  thought.  The  more  difficult  the  thought, 
the  more  frequent  the  pauses  must  be,  but  the 
paragraph  ending  will  usually  mark  the  place  for 
recalling  and  recasting  in  the  mind  the  difficult 
thought  in  the  paragraph. 


44  HOW  TO  STUDY 

So  much  for  the  method  of  frequent  recall  in 
difficult  reading  as  a  means  of  testing  the  efficiency 
of  attention.  Another  reason  for  this  practice  is 
to  make  the  thought  more  available  for  future  use 
by  fixing  it  more  firmly  in  the  memory. 

Of  late  years  there  has  been  a  good  deal  said 

Value  of        Q^^  written  against  what  is  called  "mere  memoriz- 

right  memo-    .       ,,      -r       i       •      i 

rizing.  mg.       I  take  it,  however,  that  the  quarrel  is  not 

really  with  memorizing  as  such,  but  with  the  method 
of  memorizing.  It  is  the  habit  of  memorizing  mere 
words  without  mastering  the  meaning  back  of  them 
that  educators  decry  when  they  speak  of  "mere 
memorizing."  They  insist  upon  learning  to  under- 
stand rather  than  to  remember.  Yet  to  understand 
anything  is  the  best  and  surest  way  of  remembering 
it;  nor  is  any  truth  of  so  little  value  to  the  student 
as  to  be  best  forgotten. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  work  done  in  high 

Where  drill  school  and  college  is  of  a  sort  that  demands  learn- 

is  needed.       .        ,     ,  ^r  ,  . 

mg  by  heart.  Of  course  this  process  is  most  neces- 
sary in  earlier  education.  Memory  drill  alone  can 
adequately  fix  the  multiplication  table,  the  rules 
and  forms  of  English  grammar,  and  the  spelling  of 
difficult  words.  The  foreign  language  courses  of 
high  school  and  college  make  a  like  appeal  for  mem- 
ory drill.  Even  in  a  course  like  geometry,  which 
is  supposed  to  train  the  reasoning  powers  almost 
exclusively,  if  the  theorems,  axioms,  and  postulates 
are  not  memorized,  the  attack  on  new  work  is 
weakened.  Memory  brings  up  the  ammunition 
without  which  new  problems  will  not  succumb  to 
attack.    It  has  been  justly  said,  "Memory  is  the 


PRACTICE  RECALL  AS  YOU  STUDY   45 

purveyor  of  reason."    It  furnishes  the  materials 
of  thought  here  and  everywhere. 

Thus  a  knowledge  of  the  best  methods  of  fixing 
needed  facts  in  the  memory  will  always  be  valu-  In  drill  work 
able  to  the  student.  For  drill  work,  repetition  as  increasing 
well  as  recall  will  be  found  necessary.  In  memoriz-  intervals, 
ing  or  other  drill  work,  repeat  at  increasing  intervals. 
For  instance,  suppose  you  wish  to  master  the 
spelling  of  a  new  and  difficult  word:  you  will  not 
learn  it  so  thoroughly  by  spelling  it  aloud  or  writ- 
ing it  ten  consecutive  times  as  you  will  by  repeating 
the  spelling  say  twice  in  the  morning,  twice  in  the 
afternoon,  twice  on  the  morrow,  twice  on  the  fourth 
day,  and  twice  on  the  tenth  day.  The  law  applies 
to  other  pure  memory  processes,  such  as  learning 
a  poem  or  the  vocabulary  of  a  foreign  language. 
Frequent  short  sittings  are  much  more  effective  for 
drill  than  one  long  one;  and  if  these  short  sittings  are 
repeated  at  increasing  intervals,  the  retention  of  the 
matter  studied  will  be  far  more  sure  and  enduring. 

Each  repetition  at  a  given  time  occurs  with  less 

interest    and  attention,   and  in   consequence  with  Reason    for 
1  ,      rr  1  •     1       x^  r  increase    of 

weakened   effect   upon    the   mmd.     But    after   an  intervals. 

interval   the  effect  of  a  repetition   will   again   be 

heightened.     Fatigue  and  ennui  are  both  fatal   to 

efficient  study.     To  avoid  these  in  drill  work,  have 

frequent  short  sittings  rather  than  a  single  long  one, 

and   repeat   at   increasing   intervals.     Out   of   all 

proportion  to  the  time  required  for  such  reviews 

is  the  value  received.     And  nearly  every  subject 

has  some  principles  of  such  prime  importance  as 

to  warrant  fixing  them  in  the  mind  by  drill. 


46  HOW  TO  STUDY 

To  test  'the  efficiency  of  your  reading  and  to  compel 
Summary,  the  right  attention  in  difficult  passages,  pause  from 
time  to  time  at  the  natural  pauses  of  thought  and 
recall  what  you  have  just  read  to  see  if  you  are  getting 
the  thought.  This  will  also  help  to  fix  in  mind  what 
you  are  reading. 

In  drill  work  make  frequent  short  sittings  and 
repeat  at  increasing  intervals. 


VIII.  Make  a  Synopsis  and  Visualize  it 

McMurry,  in  How  to  Study  atid  Teaching  Otiiers 
How  to  Study,  calls  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  ,  . 
field  of  thought  is  never  a  level  plain,  but  more  like  thought, 
a  range  of  mountains  in  which  important  ideas 
rise  Uke  peaks  above  those  of  lesser  importance. 
Each  of  the  peaks  is  supported  by  masses  of  related 
details  at  its  base.  It  should  be  the  chief  end  of 
study,  the  first  and  last  business  of  the  student,  to 
discern  the  mountain  peaks,  to  see  that  the  main 
thoughts  do  stand  out  prominently  in  the  mind  and 
that  all  the  lesser  details  are  grouped  in  right  rela- 
tion to  them  and  to  one  another. 

In  discerning  relative  importance,  much  will  al- 
ready have  been  done  for  you  when  the  high  school  Previous 

,      ,       ^       ,  1  r  1  1.  -11    training  m 

is   reached.     Good   teachers   of   oral    readmg   will  the  discem- 

have  taught  you  to  dwell  longer  and  to  place  greater  "^^"^  °^  ^^' 
emphasis  of  voice  upon  those  sentences  and  pas-  points, 
sages  that  contain  important  thoughts.  They 
will  have  taught  you  to  give  less  time  and  stress 
to  the  words  and  sentences  that  are  relatively 
unimportant.  Teachers  of  grammar  will  have 
helped  you  to  keep  in  mind  the  subject  of  thought 
in  each  sentence,  and  to  see  what  is  closely  related 
and  what  is  loosely  related,  what  is  subordinate  and 
what  is  independent  in  the  relations  within  the  sen- 
tence. Teachers  of  Latin  will  have  taught  you  to 
test  the  accuracy  of  your  translations  by  demand- 


48  HOW  TO  STUDY 

ing  that  every  sentence  shall  yield  up  a  sensible 
meaning  of  its  own,  as  well  as  show  a  clear  and 
definite  relation  to  other  sentences. 

Teachers    of    rhetoric    in    the    high    school    will 

Help  from     jjg^p    yQ^    ^q    ggg    ^jig    relations    within    a   para- 
your  training        ^  ,  .  ^      . 

in  English,  graph;  to  pick  out  the  topic  sentence,  the  transi- 
tional, the  illustrative,  the  summarizing  sentences 
—  ability  of  great  value  in  discovering  the  peaks  of 
thought.  In  all  your  reading,  sentence  study  will 
help  you  to  see  the  important  thoughts  of  the 
paragraph  and  to  discern  the  relations  of  other 
sentences  to  these.  In  your  work  in  English  litera- 
ture you  will  learn  to  see  the  plot  in  fiction,  the 
forces  contesting  for  supremacy,  the  episodes  that 
develop  the  plot,  and  the  relation  of  each  episode 
to  the  ultimate  solution,  all  such  learning  bringing 
increase  to  your  powers. 

But  in  my  opinion  the  most  valuable  training  a 

Value  of  the  student  receives,  that  which  will  help  him  most  in 
outhne  or  .  r  i        n  i  •  i      •      i 

synopsis.  the  preparation  of  nearly  all  his  work,  is  the  train- 
ing in  outlining  by  synopsis  the  thought  of  an 
author  like  Burke  or  like  Macaulay. 

Below  is  part  of  a  synoptical  outline  of  Burke's 

Outline  of      Speech   on   Conciliation.     Notice   how   the   moun- 
Burke  s  .  ,         .     ,         i  -,  ■,  ^         -, 

speech.  tam  peaks  ot  thought  are  brought  out  under  the 

headings  in  capital  letters,  A  and  B;  how  subordi- 
nate headings  of  lesser  though  still  important 
weight  come  under  the  Roman  numerals;  while 
subordinate  to  these  are  other  points  under  Arabic 
numerals,  which  in  turn  may  have  subordinate  de- 
tails under  small  letters.  The  peaks  of  thought 
are  set  further  to  the  left.    It  is  essential,  also,  to 


VALUE  OF  A  SYNOPSIS  49 

clearness  of  thought  in  such  an  outline  to  arrange 
in  a  vertical  column  headings  which  are  coordinate 
in  thought,  so  that  one  will  come  directly  under 
another.  It  is  also  important  that  coordinate  head- 
ings, being  parallel  in  thought,  be  made  parallel 
in  wording  and  in  construction,  as,  for  example, 
through  the  device  of  using  the  same  introductory 
word  for  the  sentences,  or  by  having  coordinate 
thoughts  cast  in  the  same  sentence  forms. 

Bubke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 
Introduction 

A.  Why  Burke  speaks  on  the  American  question  at  this  time.   Burke's 

T    ^1      .        .  .      •  1       f   1  •  speech  on 

I.  The  American  question  is  worthy  of  the  serious  atten-  conciliation. 

tion  of  Parhament. 

1.  Parhament  regarded  it  as  serious  when  Burke  first 

took  his  seat. 

2.  Parhament  has  been  fluctuating  in  opinion  regarding 

the  method  of  treating  America,  while  Burke  has 
not. 

3.  Parliament  has  taken  no  effective  measures  deaUng 

with  America. 
II.  Burke  feels  called  upon  to  speak  for  the  opposition. 

1 .  His  party  must  show  its  hand. 

2.  His  own  insignificance  may  aid  his  cause  by  divesting 

it  of  all  personal  consideration. 

B.  Burke's  proposition  is  to  secure  peace  by  reconciliation. 

I.  His  proposal  of  peace  differs  from  Lord  North's. 

I.  Because  it  does  not  propose  an  auction  of  finance. 
II.  His  proposal  resembles  Lord  North's. 

I .  Because  North's  is  based  upon  the  same  principle  of 
peace  and  reconciliation. 
HI.  This  proposal  of  peace  should  come  from  England. 
I .  Because  England  is  the  superior  power. 


50  HOW  TO  STUDY 

IV.  Argument  as  to  why  and  how  England  should  concede 
should  be  based  not  on  theory  but  on  the  nature  and 
circumstances  of  America. 

Brief  Proper 

A .  England  ought  to  conciliate  the  colonies. 

I.  '  Because  the  population  and  wealth  of  America  are  too 

great  to  be  disregarded. 

1.  Her  great  and  growing  population  make  her  formi- 

dable. 

2.  Her    commerce    is    extensive    and    important    to 

England. 

3.  Her  agricultural  products  support  England. 

4.  Her  fisheries  exhibit  the  vigor  of  a  free  people. 

5.  Force    is  not  the  best  means  for  preserving  the 

colonies,  since 

a.  Force  is  but  temporary. 

b.  Force  is  uncertain. 

c.  Force  impairs  the  very  object  it  would  preserve. 

d.  Force  is  not  backed  by  experience. 

II.  Because  the  temper  and  character  of  Americans  render 

them  formidable. 

1.  Their  descent  from  EngUshmen  fosters  a  spirit  of 

freedom. 

a.  As  such  they  are  devoted  to  freedom. 

b.  As  such  they  regard  the  power  of  taxing  them- 
selves as  the  mark  of  freedom. 

2.  Their  form  of  government  fosters  a  spirit  of  freedom. 

3.  Their  reUgion  fosters  this  spirit. 

4.  Their  institution  of  slavery  fosters  it. 

5.  Their  education  fosters  it. 

6.  Their  distance  from  England  fosters  it. 

III.  Because  coercion  has  been  found  unwise  by  experience. 
I .  It  is  hard  to  remove  causes  of  trouble,  since 

a.  It  is  unwise  to  check  the  growth  in  population 
and  wealth. 


VALUE  OF  A  SYNOPSIS  51 

b.  It  is  impossible  to  alter  the  temper  and  character 

of  the  colonists. 

c.  It  is  impossible  to  pump  the  ocean  dry. 

2.  It  is  impolitic  to  punish  Americans  as  criminals,  for 

a.  Their  number  forbids  criminal  procedure. 

b.  Their  plea  for  privilege  is  not  rebellion. 

c.  Their   punishment    thus   far   by    England    has 

proved  inexpedient. 
B.  England  ought  to  conciliate  the  colonies  by  satisfying  their 
complaint  on  the  subject  of  taxation. 
Etc. 

When  you  must  make  a  synopsis  of  any  subject, 

bear  in  mind  that  peaks  of  thought  are  not  isolated,  Ipterrela- 

,.     .  ^ .  °       -  ,  tion  of 

but  lie  m  a  mountani  range.     In  other  words,  you  points  in 

must  recognize  the  relation  of  facts  one  with  an-  outlme. 

other  —  their  sequence  and  connection  in  a  given 

subject.     Suppose,  for  instance,  that  the  student  of 

the  history  of  English  or  American  literature   is 

making  synoptical  outlines  of  each  author  studied. 

His  work  may  include  the  following  topics : 

1 .  Name  and  dates. 

2.  Birthplace  and  residence. 

3.  Parentage. 

4.  Boyhood  and  education. 

5.  Travel  and  occupation. 

6.  Times. 

7.  Friends  and  contemporaries. 

8.  Works. 

9.  Style,  character  of  work,  and  place  in  literature. 

If  each  of  the  nine  items  listed  above  is  studied 
with  no  reference  to  the  rest,  all  will  lack  significance 
to  the  student  and  will  soon  be  forgotten.  Each 
item  before  8  and  9  should  be  studied  with  a  view 
to  interpreting  8  and  9.     If  2,  or  3,  or  4,  or  5,  or  6, 


52  HOW  TO  STUDY 

or  7  seems  to  have  no  bearing  on  8  and  9,  it  should 
be  disregarded  in  the  outline. 

In  the  study  of  history,  keep  this  principle  in 
Historical  mind:  that  events  are  never  a  kaleidoscopic  jum- 
ble, but  bear  relation  to  one  another  as  of  cause 
and  effect.  In  every  period  of  history  there  can 
be  seen  some  distinguishing  trait,  some  uniting  prin- 
ciple, under  which  as  a  heading  the  events  may  be 
ranged  with  proper  sequence  of  time  and  in  orderly 
relation  one  to  another. 

As  a  rule  there  will  be  found  in  every  topic  some 
highly  important  points  to  which  every  other  point 
relates.  Notice  it  below  in  the  two  topical  outlines, 
used  in  studying  wars  and  presidential  terms.  In 
the  former,  all  points  bear  upon  the  provisions  of 
the  treaty  of  peace;  in  the  latter,  all  bear  upon 
important  legislation,  and  especially  upon  presi- 
dential measures  and  influences. 

Topical  Outline  for  the  Study  of  a  War 

Name  of  War 

1.  Dates. 

2.  Causes. 

a.  Primary  causes. 
h.  Secondary  causes. 
c.  Precipitating  cause. 

3.  Countries  engaged. 

4.  Leaders. 

5.  Chief  battles  and  results  of  each. 

6.  Turning  points  of  the  war. 

7.  Efforts  toward  peace. 

8.  Treaty. 

a.  Place. 

h.  Commissioners. 

c.  Pro\isions. 


VALUE  OF  A  SYNOPSIS  53 

Topical  Outline  for  the  Stldy  of  a  Presidential  Term 
Name  of  President 

1 .  Dates  of  presidential  term. 

2.  Previous  exp)erience  and  training  of  the  president. 

3.  Opponents  in  the  election. 

4.  Votes. 

a.  Electoral. 

b.  Popular. 

5.  Events  of  importance. 

6.  Legislation  of  importance. 

7.  Presidential  measures  and  influence  on  legislation. 

A  generalized  outline,  similar  to  the  one  above, 
may  be  used  in  studying  the  reigns  of  kings.  In  Variety  in 
covering  the  events  and  movements  of  history  it  outlines, 
is  wise  to  use  as  many  different  synopses  as  possible. 
Some  synoptical  forms  will  show  details,  others 
will  note  only  the  most  important  matters.  An 
example  of  the  latter  form  would  be  an  outline  of 
important  events  and  movements  by  centuries. 
Some  outlines  will  be  devoted  to  leaders  in  states- 
manship, war,  literature,  science,  or  industry;  others 
will  be  devoted  to  causes  leading  to  some  great 
movement  or  event;  still  others  to  a  chain  of  related 
events,  etc.  The  chronological  outline  of  a  single 
brief  period  of  history,  such  for  instance  as  may  be 
covered  in  the  class  discussion  of  a  day  or  a  week, 
should  be  only  the  beginning  of  development  in  im- 
portant work  of  this  kind. 

History   is   a    subject   especially    suited    to    the 

synoptical  method  of  study,  but  it  is  not  the  only  Synopses 

—.  .  .  ,  .  .  ...       ,       valuable  m 

one.    There   is   scarcely   a   subject   m   which   the  the  study  of 

student   will   not  be   helped  by   making   outlines,  ^^^y  ^"^ 

Grammar,  rhetoric,  and  the  sciences  will  be  found 


54  HOW  TO  STUDY 

wonderfully  suited  to  study  by  synopsis;  and  such 
study  will  yield  rich  returns  in  learning  and  under- 
standing. Even  in  mathematics,  reviews  and  pre- 
views which  outline  the  work  in  synopses  will  be 
valuable.  Here  is  a  generalized  outline  for  the 
demonstration  of  any  proposition  in  geometry: 

1.  Statement  of  the  proposition. 

2.  Construction  of  the  figure. 

3.  Data  with  reference  to  the  figure. 

4.  Conclusion  with  reference  to  the  figure. 

5.  Auxiliary  constructions,  if  an}^ 

6.  Proof  with  reasons  in  full. 

7.  Conclusion, 

Below  is  an  outline  typical  of  work  covered  in  any 
department  of  the  subject.  Failure  to  keep  in  mind 
the  propositions  proved  is  often  a  cause  of  failure  to 
make  original  demonstrations. 

Congruent  Triangles 

I.  Those  having  given  two  sides  and  the  included  angle  of 
one  equal  respectively  to  two  sides  and  the  included  angle  of 
the  other. 

1.  Construction  lines  needed,  if  any. 

2.  Method  of  proof. 

3.  Previous  theorems,  axioms,  or  postulates  necessary  to 

proof. 

4.  Corollaries. 

n.  Those  having  two  angles  and  the  included  side  of  one 
equal  respectively  to  two  angles  and  the  included  side  of  the 
other. 

1.  Construction  lines  needed,  if  any. 

2.  Method  of  proof. 

3.  Previous  theorems,  axioms,  or  postulates  necessary  to 

proof. 

4.  Corollaries. 


VALUE   OF   A    SYNOPSIS  55 

III.  Those  having  three  sides  of  one  equal  respectively  to 
three  sides  of  the  other. 

1.  Construction  lines  needed,  if  any. 

2.  Method  of  proof. 

3.  Previous  theorems,  axioms,  or  postulates  necessary  to 

proof. 

4.  Corollaries. 

In  the  same  way  outlines  may  be  made  of  alge- 
braic materials;  rules,  cases  of  factoring,  methods 
of  solving  equations,  all  admit  of  outline. 

Of  the  three  types  of  mental  imagery  —  sound, 
sight,  and  touch  —  the  most  enduring  is  that  of  sight.  Permanence 
When  you  desire  to  fix  anything  permanently  in  the  imagery, 
memory,  make  a  synopsis  and  visualize  it.  Few 
can  visualize  page  after  page  of  reading  matter. 
Points  do  not  stand  out  clearly  enough.  But  it  is 
easy  to  fix  a  page  containing  two  or  three  main 
headings  with  a  certain  definite  number  of  sub- 
heads under  each.  Thus,  not  only  for  the  sake  of  a 
clearer  understanding  of  the  text  should  you  make 
an  outline  of  it,  but  also  in  order  to  remember  what 
you  study  you  should  make  a  synopsis  and  visualize  it. 


IX.  Learn  When  and  How  to  Read  Rapidly 


Thorough 
learning  a 
slow  pro- 
cess. 


Need  of 
rapid  read- 
ing at  times. 


The  principles  of  effective  study  so  far  given 
apply  to  thorough  learning  and  to  the  attack  on 
new  and  difficult  material.  Thorough  learning  is 
necessarily  slow;  and  when  drill  enters  in,  it  will 
be  found  tedious.  Yet,  slow  and  tedious  though  it 
be,  thoroughness  of  preparation  from  day  to  day 
will  usually  be  found  by  far  the  most  economical 
in  time  and  energy.  Especially  is  this  true  of 
progressive  studies  like  languages  and  mathematics. 
The  cost  of  mastering  a  new  Latin  word  when  it 
first  appears  is  but  a  small  fraction  of  the  time 
necessary  to  learn  it  incidentally  by  thumbing  the 
vocabulary  and  looking  it  up  again  and  again  as  it. 
recurs  in  the  text.  If  today's  formula  in  algebra  or 
today's  theorem  in  geometry  is  thoroughly  learned, 
"  salted  down  to  keep,"  it  will  save  hours  of  dis- 
couragement later  on  in  the  course.  So  it  is  in 
much  of  the  student's  work:  more  time  and  better 
methods  of  study  today  will  save  long  hours  of 
effort  in  the  days  to  come. 

And  yet  the  student  needs  also  to  learn  when  and 
how  to  abandon  slow,  careful  reading;  he  needs  to 
know  how  to  skim  very  lightly  and  rapidly  over 
fifty  or  a  hundred  pages  of  text.  It  often  happens 
in  history  that  some  matter  is  referred  to  which  the 
student  remembers  having  met  in  previous  reading, 


WHEN  AND  HOW  TO  READ   RAPIDLY    57 

and  he  now  wishes  to  refresh  his  mind  concerning  it. 
Often  a  thorough  understanding  of  the  passage 
before  him  demands  this  freshening  up.  It  may  be 
necessary  to  examine  a  hundred  pages  of  text  to  find 
the  point  in  question.  Here  is  a  need  for  rapid 
reading. 

Likewise  in  the  second  year  of  algebra  or  in  the 
work  of  the  physics  class  the  student  may  in  his 
solution  of  a  problem  be  halted  till  he  runs  back 
over  his  first  year  algebra  and  finds  the  necessary 
principles  which  had  slipped  from  his  memory. 
Here  is  another  place  for  rapid  reading. 

The  alert  student  will  always  be  formulating 
questions  from  his  text  —  questions  which  the 
single  author  does  not  clear  up  sufficiently.  Answers 
to  these  questions  call  for  the  rapid  consultation 
of  other  books.  To  freshen  his  memory  and  make 
sure  of  authority  for  statements  that  he  wished  to 
make  in  the  preparation  of  this  brief  book  for  the 
press,  the  writer  has  had  to  run  over  hundreds 
of  pages  of  authors  previously  read.  All  writers, 
speakers,  debaters,  and  literary  workers  find  con- 
stant need  for  rapid  reading  of  this  sort. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  go  further  to  show  how 

exceedingly  valuable  is  the  art  of  rapid  reading.  Pace  de- 
T-,  ,  ,  ,,     •  ,     manded. 

Many  students  read  at  all  times  at  a  pace  not  much 

faster   than   that   acquired   through   oral   reading. 

But  much  reading  to  be  economically  done  demands 

a  pace  from  two  to  four  times  as  fast  as  oral  reading. 

To  read   fast   it  is   necessary   to  read  sentence  How  to 

groups  rather  than  individual  words.     You  must  gSed^  ^^^ 

learn  to  leap  from  one  sentence  to  the  next,  not 


58  HOW  TO  STUDY 

stopping  to  dwell  upon  every  word  and  phrase. 
You  must  learn  to  fill  in  the  thought  from  two  or 
three  salient  words  in  a  line;  and  with  no  second 
glance  you  must  press  on,  trusting  to  later  sentences 
to  clear  up  meanings  that  you  do  not  instantly 
,  catch.  Practice  with  reviews  or  with  easy  narra- 
tives where  the  subject-matter  presents  no  special 
difficulties.  In  reading  by  sentences,  give  special 
attention  to  the  beginning  and  end  of  each  sentence. 
By  purposeful  practice  in  this  art  you  can  make 
great  progress  in  ability  to  read  rapidly.  Suppose, 
for  instance,  after  having  studied  a  history  assign- 
ment in  the  regular  text-  followed  in  the  class-room, 
you  key  yourself  up  for  a  ten-minute  effort  in  rapid 
reading  from  some  other  history  that  covers  much 
the  same  ground.  One  minute  to  the  page  would 
be  a  reasonably  attainable  speed  in  this,  or  ten 
pages  in  the  ten  minutes,  while  to  read  ten  pages 
aloud  or  silently  word  by  word  might  require  from 
twenty  to  thirty  minutes. 
At  first  you  will  perhaps  get  little  from  such 
The  knack  rapid  reading.  There  is  a  knack  in  it  that  must 
reading.  be  acquired,  but  by  practice  you  will  soon  learn 
to  get  all  that  you  need.  In  the  history  work 
referred  to  above,  for  instance,  you  will  get  enough 
by  rapid  reading  to  enable  you  to  compare  the  two 
authors,  to  see  w^herein  they  agree  and  wherein  they 
differ  in  matters  of  fact,  as  well  as  in  the  relative 
importance  and  significance  that  they  assign  to  their 
facts. 

In  consulting  authorities,  reading  often  has  to 
be  done  at  a  very  high  speed.    At  the  rate  of  one 


WHEN  AND  HOW  TO  READ   RAPIDLY    59 

minute  to  the  page  it  would  take  four  hours  to  read  heading  by 
,        ,      ,  ,      .  ,  T.        paragraphs 

a  book  of   two  hundred  and  eighty  pages.     But  and  topic 

it  is  often  necessary  to  rush  through  an  authority  sentences, 
in  an  hour  or  even  less.  In  looking  up  a  question  it 
is  seldom  necessary  to  read  a  book  from  cover  to 
cover.  Often,  to  satisfy  your  needs,  you  will  consult 
the  table  of  contents  or  the  index,  then  turn  directly 
to  certain  definite  pages,  and  leave  the  rest  unread. 
If,  however,  you  desire  to  follow  the  author's  argu- 
ment or  exposition-  through  from  beginning  to  end, 
you  save  time  by  reading  by  paragraphs  rather  than 
by  sentences.  If  you  have  studied  rhetoric  you 
know  that  paragraphs  mean  larger  units  of  thought. 
The  subject  of  the  paragraph  is  usually  stated 
in  a  brief  sentence  known  as  the  topic  sentence. 
The  topic  sentence  usually  comes  first  in  the  para- 
graph. The  other  sentences  of  the  paragraph  either 
repeat  in  other  words  or  illustrate  the  thought 
contained  in  the  topic  sentence.  Sometimes,  pre- 
ceding the  topic  sentence,  there  is  a  prepara- 
tory sentence  which  serves  to  lead  up  to  the 
new  topic  of  discussion,  and  which  is  known  as 
a  transitional  sentence.  It  may  be  passed  over 
quickly.  Occasionally  the  topic  sentence  is  reserved 
for  the  end  of  the  paragraph.  Nearly  always  the 
last  sentence  of  a  paragraph  is  important  to 
the  reader;  it  frequently  contains  a  summary  of 
the  thought.  To  read  by  paragraphs,  glance  at  the 
first  short  sentence  or  two  in  a  paragraph.  If  this 
is  sufficient  skip  the  rest  of  it  and  go  at  once  to 
the  next  paragraph.  If  the  first  or  second  sentence 
does  not  develop  enough  thought  to  carry  you  on, 


6o  HOW  TO  STUDY 

glance  at  the  last  sentence.     Of  course,  when  occa^ 

sion  warrants,  you  will  pause  long  enough  to  de- 

velop  the  topic  still  further  by  reading  whatever 

intervening  sentences  are  seen  to  bear  vitally  upon 

the  subject. 

A  still  more  rapid  way  to  make  a  book  yield  up 

Where  to       j^g  kernel  of  thought  is  to  read  only  the  first  para- 
look  for  the  ,  ,11.  1     1      .  ^T  .• 
gist  of  a        graph  or  two  and  the  last  m  each  chapter.     Notice 

chapter.         j^q^  in  this  book  the  last  paragraph  sums  up  the 
thought  in  each  chapter. 

We  have  now  had  the  principles  of  rapid  read- 
ing.   They  are  as  follows: 
Summary.  /.  In  rapid  reading  do  not  halt  over  words  one  at  a 

time  or  submit  them  to  inward  hearing. 

2.  In  reading  hy  sentence  units ,  regard  especially 
the  beginning  and  the  end  of  sentences.  The  subject 
is  usually  near  the  beginning. 

J.  In  reading  by  paragraph  units,  give  special 
attention  to  the  first  or  second  and  the  last  sentences; 
here  usually  are  fomtd  the  topic  and  summary  of  the 
paragraph. 

4.  In  reading  by  chapter  units,  pay  special  atten- 
tion to  the  first  and  last  paragraphs  of  the  chapter. 
In  the  first  the  subject  of  the  chapter  is  usually  de- 
veloped; the  last  usually  contains  a  summary  or  an 
important  conclusion. 

5.  Learn  to  use  indexes  and  tables  of  contents  to 
help  in  locating  the  material  that  you  want. 

Let  us  apply  the  principle  of  rapid  reading  to 
one  of  Addison's  Essays : 


WHEN  AND  HOW  TO   READ   RAPIDLY    6i 

The  Spectator  on  Exercise 

Ut  sit  mens  sana  in  corpore  sano.  —  Juvenal. 
A  healthy  body  and  a  mind  at  ease. 

[i]  Bodily  labour  is  of  two  kinds,  either  that  which  a  man 
submits  to  for  his  livelihood,  or  that  which  he  undergoes  for 
his  pleasure.  The  latter  of  them  generally  changes  the  name 
of  labour  for  that  of  exercise,  but  dififers  only  from  ordinary 
labour  as  it  rises  from  another  motive. 

[2]  A  country  life  abounds  in  both  these  kinds  of  labour,  and 
for  that  reason  gives  a  man  a  greater  stock  of  health,  and 
consequently  a  more  perfect  enjoyment  of  himself,  than  any 
other  way  of  Ufe.  I  consider  the  body  as  a  system  of  tubes 
and  glands,  or,  to  use  a  more  rustic  phrase,  a  bundle  of  pipes 
and  strainers,  fitted  to  one  another  after  so  wonderful  a  manner 
as  to  make  a  proper  engine  for  the  soul  to  work  with.  This 
description  does  not  only  comprehend  the  bowels,  bones,  ten- 
dons, veins,  nerves,  and  arteries,  but  every  muscle  and  every 
ligature,  which  is  a  composition  of  fibres  that  are  so  many  im- 
perceptible tubes  or  pipes,  interwoven  on  all  sides  with  invisible 
glands  or  strainers. 

[3]  This  general  idea  of  a  human  body,  without  considering 
it  in  its  niceties  of  anatomy,  lets  us  see  how  absolutely  neces- 
sary labour  is  for  the  right  preser\'ation  of  it.  There  must  be 
frequent  motions  and  agitations,  to  mix,  digest,  and  separate 
the  juices  contained  in  it,  as  well  as  to  clear  and  cleanse  that 
infinitude  of  pipes  and  strainers  of  which  it  is  composed,  and 
to  give  their  soUd  parts  a  more  firm  and  lasting  tone.  Labour 
or  exercise  ferments  the  humours,  casts  them  into  their  proper 
channels,  throws  oflf  redundancies,  and  helps  nature  in  those 
secret  distributions,  \vithout  which  the  body  cannot  subsist  in 
its  vigour,  nor  the  soul  act  with  cheerfulness. 

[4]  I  might  here  mention  the  effects  which  this  has  upon  all 
the  faculties  of  the  mind,  by  keeping  the  understanding  clear, 
the  imagination  untroubled,  and  refining  those  spirits  that  are 
necessary  for  the  proper  exertion  of  our  intellectual  faculties, 
during  the  present  laws  of  union  between  soul  and  body.  It 
is  to  a  neglect  in  this  particular  that  we  must  ascribe  the  spleen, 


62  HOW  TO  STUDY 

which  is  so  frequent  in  men  of  studious  and  sedentary  tempers, 
as  well  as  the  vapours,  to  which  those  of  the  other  sex  are  so 
often  subject. 

[5]  Had  not  exercise  been  absolutely  necessary  for  our 
well-being,  nature  would  not  have  made  the  body  so  proper  for 
it,  by  giving  such  an  activity  to  the  limbs,  and  such  a  pliancy 
to  every  part  as  necessarily  produce  those  compressions,  exten- 
sions, contortions,  dilatations,  and  all  other  kinds  of  motions 
that  are  necessary  for  the  preservation  of  such  a  system  of  tubes 
and  glands  as  has  been  before  mentioned.  And  that  we  might 
not  want  inducements  to  engage  us  in  such  an  exercise  of  the 
body  as  is  proper  for  its  welfare,  it  is  so  ordered  that  nothing 
valuable  can  be  procured  without  it.  Not  to  mention  riches 
and  honour,  even  food  and  raiment  are  not  to  be  come  at  with- 
out the  toil  of  the  hands  and  sweat  of  the  brows.  Providence 
furnishes  materials,  but  expects  that  we  should  work  them  up 
ourselves.  The  earth  must  be  laboured  before  it  gives  its 
increase;  and  when  it  is  forced  into  its  several  products,  how 
many  hands  must  they  pass  through  before  they  are  fit  for 
use!  Manufactures,  trade,  and  agriculture  naturally  employ 
more  than  nineteen  parts  of  the  species  in  twenty;  and  as  for 
those  who  are  not  obliged  to  labour,  by  the  condition  in  which 
they  are  born,  they  are  more  miserable  than  the  rest  of  man- 
kind, unless  they  indulge  themselves  in  that  voluntary  labour 
which  goes  by  the  name  of  exercise. 

[6]  My  friend  Sir  Roger  has  been  an  indefatigable  man  in 
business  of  this  kind,  and  has  hung  several  parts  of  his  house 
with  the  trophies  of  his  former  labours.  The  walls  of  his  great 
hall  are  covered  with  the  horns  of  several  kinds  of  deer  that  he 
has  killed  in  the  chase,  which  he  thinks  the  most  valuable  furni- 
ture of  his  house,  as  they  afford  him  frequent  topics  of  discourse 
and  show  that  he  has  not  been  idle.  At  the  lower  end  of  the 
hall  is  a  large  otter's  skin  stuffed  with  hay,  which  his  mother 
ordered  to  be  hung  up  in  that  manner,  and  the  knight  looks 
upon  it  with  great  satisfaction,  because  it  seems  he  was  but 
nine  years  old  when  his  dog  killed  him.  A  little  room  adjoin- 
ing to  the  hall  is  a  kind  of  arsenal  filled  with  guns  of  several 
sizes  and  inventions,  with  which  the  knight  has  made  great 


WHEN  AND  HOW  TO  READ    R AI>1DLY    63 

havoc  in  the  woods,  and  destroyed  many  tliousand  of  pheas- 
ants, partridges,  and  woodcocks.  His  stable  doors  are  patched 
with  noses  that  belonged  to  foxes  of  the  knight's  own  hunting 
down.  Sir  Roger  showed  me  one  of  them  that  for  distinction's 
sake  has  a  brass  nail  struck  through  it,  which  cost  him  about 
fifteen  hours'  riding,  carried  him  through  half  a  dozen  counties, 
killed  him  a  brace  of  geldings,  and  lost  above  half  his  dogs. 
This  the  knight  looks  upon  as  one  of  the  greatest  exploits  of 
liis  Ufe.  The  perverse  widow,  whom  I  have  given  some 
account  of,  was  the  death  of  several  foxes;  for  Sir  Roger  has 
told  me  that  in  the  course  of  his  amours  he  patched  the  western 
door  of  his  stable.  Whenever  the  widow  was  cruel,  the  foxes 
were  sure  to  pay  for  it.  In  proportion  as  his  passion  for  the 
widow  abated,  and  old  age  came  on,  he  left  off  fox-hunting; 
but  a  hare  is  not  yet  safe  that  sits  within  ten  miles  of  his 
house. 

[7]  There  is  no  kind  of  exercise  which  I  would  so  recommend 
to  my  readers  of  both  sexes  as  this  of  riding,  as  there  is  none 
which  so  much  conduces  to  health,  and  is  every  way  accommo- 
dated to  the  body,  according  to  the  idea  which  I  have  given  of 
it.  Dr.  Sydenham  is  very  lavish  in  its  praises;  and  if  the 
English  reader  will  see  the  mechanical  effects  of  it  described 
at  length,  he  may  find  them  in  a  book  published  not  many  years 
since,  under  the  title  of  Medicina  Gymnastica.  For  my  own 
part,  when  I  am  in  town,  for  want  of  these  opportunities,  I 
exercise  myself  an  hour  every  morning  upon  a  dumb-bell  that 
is  placed  in  a  corner  of  my  room,  and  pleases  me  the  more 
because  it  does  everything  I  require  of  it  in  the  most  profound 
silence.  My  landlady  and  her  daughters  are  so  well  acquainted 
with  my  hours  of  exercise,  that  they  never  come  into  my 
room  to  disturb  me  whilst  I  am  ringing, 

[8]  When  I  was  some  years  younger  than  I  am  at  present, 
I  used  to  employ  myself  in  a  more  laborious  diversion,  which 
I  learned  from  a  Latin  treatise  of  exercises  that  is  written  with 
great  erudition:  it  is  there  called  the  aKLonaxLa,  or  the 
fighting  with  a  man's  own  shadow,  and  consists  in  the  bran- 
dishing of  two  short  sticks  grasped  in  each  hand,  and  loaden 
with  plugs  of  lead  at  either  end.    This  opens  the  chest,  exer- 


64  HOW  TO  STUDY 

cises  the  limbs,  and  gives  a  man  all  the  pleasure  of  boxing, 
mthout  the  blows.  I  could  wish  that  several  learned  men 
would  lay  out  that  time  which  they  employ  in  controversies 
and  disputes  about  nothing,  in  this  method  of  fighting  with 
their  own  shadows.  It  might  conduce  very  much  to  evaporate 
the  spleen,  which  makes  them  uneasy  to  the  public  as  well  as 
to  themselves. 

To  conclude,  as  I  am  a  compound  of  soul  and  body,  I  con- 
sider myself  as  obliged  to  a  double  scheme  of  duties;  and 
think  I  have  not  fulfilled  the  business  of  the  day,  when  I  do 
not  thus  employ  the  one  in  labour  and  exercise,  as  well  as  the 
other  in  study  and  contemplation. 

Method  ap-       In  the  first  place  notice  how  large  a  part  of  the 
pUed.  whole  thought  is  contained  in  the  first  and  last 

paragraphs. 

Now  take  the  other  paragraphs  and  see  how 
much  of  the  thought  may  be  gleaned  by  a  rapid 
reading  that  notices  especially  the  beginning  and 
the  end  of  each  paragraph  and  only  enough  words 
in  the  sentence  to  catch  the  author's  meaning. 
Observe  that  the  beginning  and  end  of  the  sentence 
are  usually  important  and  that  the  semicolon  must 
be  treated  as  a  period.  Instead  of  periods  vertical 
Hnes  are  used  to  indicate  full  stops. 

[2]  A  country  Hfe a  more  perfect  enjoyment than 

any  other|   I    consider  the   body system    of   tubes  and 

glands] interwoven  on  all  sides  with  invisible  glands  or 

strainers! 

[3J  This  general  idea  of  a  human  body necessary  labor 

is  for  the  right  preservation  of  it| — must  be  frequent  motions 

to  mix give  soHd  parts  more  firm  and  lasting  tone| 

Labor  or  exercise  ferments  the  humors,  casts  them  into  their 

proper  channels without  which body  cannot  subsist 

in  its  vigor,  nor soul  act  with  cheerfulness! 


WHEN  AND  HOW  TO  READ   RAPIDLY    65 

[4]  I -might  here  mention  effects mind,  understanding 

clear 1 neglect spleen     in      men vapors of 

other  sex 1 

Q]  Had  not  exercise  been  absolutely  necessary nature 

would  not  have  made  body  so.  proper  for  it| And  that 

we  might  not  want  inducements nothing  valuable 

without  it] riches,  honor,  food,  raiment sweat  of  the 

browsl     Providence    furnishes    materials work    them   up 

ourselves!  The  earth  must   be  labored before fit  for 

use]  Manufactures,  trade   and  agriculture  employ  nineteen 

parts  of  the  species  in  twenty; those  not  obliged  to  labor 

miserable unless exercise] 

[6]  My  friend  Sir  Roger indefatigable  in  business  of 

this  kind, hung house  with   the   trophies]    walls 

horns — deer — show not  been  idle] otter's  skin  stuffed 

nine  years  old  when  dog  killed  him|     Little  room 

kind  of  arsenal guns destroyed  many   thousands  of 

pheasants,  partridges  and  woodcocks]    His  stable  doors  are 

patched  with  noses foxes]  Sir  Roger  showed  me  one 

killed  him  a  brace  of  geldings  and  lost  above  half  his  dogs] 

This one  of  the  greatest  exploits  of  his  life]     The  perverse 

widow the  death  of  several   foxes] patched  western 

door  of  his  stable]     Whenever  the  widow  was  cruel  the  foxes 

paid 1  In  proportion  as  his  passion  for  the  widow  abated 

^left  off  fox  hunting]   but  a  hare  is  not  yet  safe 1 

[7]  There  is  no  kind  of  exercise  I  would  so  recommend 

as riding ]  Dr.  Sydenham  is  very  laxdsh  in  its  praises 

1     For  my  own  part 1  exercise upon  a  dumb-bell 

1  My  landlady  and  her  daughters never disturb 

me  whilst  I  am  ringing] 

[8]  When   I younger a   more   laborious   diversion] 

called fighting  with  a  man's  shadow brandishing 

of  two  short  sticks plugs  of   lead  at  either  end]     This 

opens  the  chest,  exercises  the  limbs boxing  without  the 

blows]  I  could  wish  several  learned  men  would this  method 

of  fighting  with  their  own  shadows]  It  might  conduce  very 
much  to  evaporate  the  spleen,  which  makes  them  uneasy  to 
the  public  as  well  as  to  themselves] 


66  HOW  TO  STUDY 

The  Sir  Roger  sketch  is  purposely  chosen  as  hav- 
ing greater  difficulty  than  that  of  most  narration; 
but  you  can  follow  the  thought  even  here  without 
seeing  all  the  words. 

The  pianist  learns  to  read  rapidly  at  sight  four 

Sight  read-    qj-  f^y^  ij^es  of  notes  representing  soprano,   alto, 
mg  in  music.  .  ,  ^  .    . 

tenor,  and  bass,  or  any  two  or  more  of  these  parts 

together  with  an  accompaniment.  Such  a  feat 
makes  rapid  reading  that  takes  in  a  whole  line  of 
words  at  a  glance  seem  comparatively  easy.  The 
task  is  accomplished  by  the  musician  in  this  way: 
the  performer  neglects  some  of  the  easier  parts  of 
counterpoint,  especially  those  notes  which  the 
laws  of  harmony  fix  in  comparatively  settled  posi- 
tions. At  these  he  guesses  in  order  to  concentrate 
his  attention  upon  the  dominant  theme.  Just  so 
the  rapid  reader  of  words  must  catch  the  dominant 
thought  without  reference  to  the  repetitions  and 
the  relatively  unimportant  words  and  statements 
that  may  easily  be  guessed  at. 

The  power  to  read  rapidly  is  of  relatively  little 

Rapid  read-  value  to  the  young  pupil;    but  as  he  advances  he 

est  value  to  will  find  it  of  more  and  more  assistance.    In  the 

advanced       university  the  student  will  scarcely  win  distinction 

as  a  scholar  without   it.     Practice   in   the   art  of 

rapid  reading  should  begin  in  the  high  school. 


X.  Stimulate  Your  Efforts  with  the  Thought 
6f  Competition 

Did  you  ever  consider  how  much  toil  and  hard- 
ship are  endured  for  the  sake  of  sport?  How  many  Willing  toil 
weary  miles  the  fisherman  tramps  through  brush  men. 
and  brake  and  swamp  to  cast  his  fly  for  trout?  How 
the  hunter  rises  before  daybreak  and  stands  or 
crouches  all  day  behind  his  screen,  regardless  of 
wet  and  cold  and  hunger,  waiting  for  a  chance  to 
shoot  at  a  flock  of  ducks;  or  toils  through  Decem- 
ber snow  up  and  down  mountain  sides  to  get  a 
shot  at  a  bear? 

Parents  often  wonder  why  the  same  boy  who 
yesterday  threw  every  ounce  of  his  strength  into  the  Football  vs. 
football  game,  today  can  scarcely  be  induced  to  sift 
the  ashes  and  attend  to  the  furnace.  It  seems  as 
if  all  useful  activity  were  distasteful  while  all  use- 
less activity  were  the  height  of  pleasure.  There  is 
a  reason  for  the  seeming  perversity:  ifi  the  activity 
of  the  hunter  J  the  fisherman,  the  football  player,  in- 
stincts as  old  as  the  race  are  called  into  play,  and 
these  instincts  are  absent  in  the  work  of  tending  the 
furnace. 

You  have  noticed  the  power  of  habit  to  make  that 

easy  and  even  agreeable  which  was  considered  hard  ^l^y  ^^' 

•'                         °  stinct  in  at- 
and  distasteful.    When  you  were  advised  to  have  avistic  pur- 
fixed  hours  of  study  and  to  plunge  in  when  the  suits  and 
,     ,                         ^                      .   .     .               ,  contests, 
study  hour  comes,  you  were  advised  to  make  use 


68  HOW  TO  STUDY 

of  this  law  of  our  being.  Now,  race  habits  ^  which 
have  been  followed  for  ages  by  our  ancestors  have 
become  instinctive  in  us;  and  all  activity  prompted 
by  instinct  is  highly  pleasurable.  For  countless 
ages  men  followed  hunting  and  fishing  as  a  means 
of  livelihood.  Their  descendants  now  instinctively 
follow  these  occupations  as  pastime.  For  countless 
ages  men  fought  in  personal  combat.  Football 
is  an  expression  of  the  old  fighting  spirit  and  it  re- 
produces the  sensations  of  battle.  That  is  why 
boys  Hke  it  so  much.  It  is  well  that  the  instinct 
finds  expression  in  play.  G.  Stanley  Hall  says  that 
boys  are  less  likely  to  fight  in  reality  when  this  is 
the  case.  The  fighting  instinct  is  present  in  nearly 
all  our  games.  Games  take  the  form  of  contests; 
and  the  more  closely  they  follow  the  elements  of 
war,  the  more  devoted  their  young  followers  are  to 
them.  Football,  baseball,  tennis,  basketball,  all 
embody  the  elements  of  a  contest  —  the  fight  for 
supremacy. 

Nor  is  fighting  confined  to  athletic  contests.  Con- 
Chess  a  war  gider  the  hours  of  vigorous  mental  activity  that  are 
given  to  chess,  checkers,  and  whist.  Hard  mental 
effort  here  becomes  delightful.  It  is  the  contest 
that  makes  it  so.  Chess  is  decidedly  a  war  game;  in 
it  superior  strategy  wins.  Kings  and  bishops  and 
knights  engage  in  battle.  The  pawns  are  the 
common  soldiers,  as  the  name  implies,  and  the 
castles  are  fortified  places  to  be  taken  or  lost  in 

1  This  is  G.  Stanley  Hall's  theory.  Colvin  and  others 
object  to  it.  But  it  seems  to  the  author  a  reasonable  explana- 
tion of  the  play  instinct. 


THE  STIMULUS  OF  COMPETITION  69 

the  fight.     So,  too,  games  with  checkers  and  with 

cards  are  contests  of  skill  and  strategy. 

When  men  were  not  fighting  for  supremacy  they 

were  strugding  for  existence.     At  first  they  strug-  Competi- 

°"      ^  1  1      f        "O^  stimu- 

gled  for  food;    afterward  for  place,  for  wealth,  for  lates. 

trade,   for   social   esteem.     Out   of   this   world-old 

struggle    the   instinctive   love   of   competition   has 

come  down  to  us  as  the  basic  principle  in  nearly 

all  our  play.     It  gives  zest  to  work  and  to  business. 

''Competition  is  the  life  of  trade,"  as  the  saying 

goes.    Our  best  efforts   are   made   under  rivahy. 

The  athlete  requires  a  rival  to  make  the  hundred  in 

ten  seconds.    The  **  miler  "  must  have  a  pacemaker 

to  make  his  best  time.    The  chess-player  can  give 

no  such  unflagging  attention  when  planning  moves 

alone  as  he  gives  when  an  opponent  faces  him. 

So  the  instincts  to  fight,  to  compete,  to  rival,  to 

imitate  —  all  of  which  are  related  —  are  powerful  Playing  the 

game, 
ones.  Why  not  make  use  of  these  great  stimulat- 
ing instincts  to  further  yourself  in  your  studies  — 
especially  m  those  studies  which  you  find  hard  and 
dry?  It  can  be  done  to  the  student's  advantage 
if  he  plays  the  game  in  the  right  spirit.  If  rivalry 
with  another  member  of  the  class  develops  hatred 
or  even  unfriendliness,  then  it  is  not  done  in  the 
right  spirit.  In  that  case  rather  let  the  rivalry  cease. 
Good-will  and  friendship  are  greater  things  than 
scholarship.  But  I  believe  that  there  may  be 
friendly  rivalry  —  rivalry  which  forbids  your  gloat- 
ing over  your  opponent's  mistakes  or  misfortunes, 
and  bids  you  be  glad  when  the  competitor  compels 
you  to  exert  yourself.     Such  rivalry  does  not  make 


70 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


Healthy 
rivalry  in 
school 
sports. 


The  pace- 
maker. 


Competing 

with 

Bogey. 


a  competitor  bitter  when  his  rival  gains  the  advan- 
tage, or  overbearing  when  that  rival  is  surpassed. 

Our  school  sports  are  developing  just  such  big- 
hearted  rivalry  as  that.  Why  should  not  our  work 
develop  it?  Young  men  are  still  friends  after 
opposing  each  other  to  the  limit  in  the  games; 
just  as  lawyers  on  opposite  sides  struggle  to  win, 
each  at  the  expense  of  the  other,  but  when  the 
case  is  settled  they  are  good  friends  still.  Probably 
in  the  vigorous  atmosphere  of  strenuous  competition 
not  only  is  the  best  work  done,  but  also  the  best  and 
strongest  character  is  developed.  We  have  thought 
so  on  the  playground;  there  is  no  reason  for  think- 
ing otherwise  in  the  class-room. 

It  is  easy  to  develop  a  spirit  of  competition  in 
study.  Others  all  around  you  are  performing  the 
same  tasks.  Every  recitation  is  a  chance  for  you 
to  match  your  ability  with  theirs.  Every  report- 
card  is  graded  by  competitive  standards  that  make 
it  possible  for  you  to  measure  swords  intellectually 
with  your  classmates  and  to  know  who  wins.  Pick 
out  a  classmate  who  is  doing  a  little  better  than 
you  in  the  same  studies,  use  him  as  a  pacemaker, 
and  see  if  you  cannot  equal  or  even  surpass  him. 

I  believe  it  is  possible  for  students  to  compete 
for  love  of  the  game  without  sacrificing  friendship. 
But  if  after  considerable  trial  you  find  it  is  not 
so,  if  you  find  your  nature  is  such  that  even  with  an 
effort  of  will  you  cannot  compete  with  another 
student  without  bitterness,  then  abandon  all  thought 
of  such  rivalry.  Compete  with  yourself,  with  what 
the  golfers  call  Bogey.     Compare  your  efforts  day 


THE  STIMULUS  OF  COMPETITION 


71 


after  day.  Plot  a  curve  to  show  your  progress. 
How  long  does  it  take  you  to  translate  ten  lines 
today,  how  long  tomorrow,  how  long  day  after  day? 
See  if  your  curve  will  show  a  record  of  improvement 
like  this  of  a  Virgil  student : 


Days 
I      2 


4     6      6      7     8      9     10    11     12    13    14    15    16    17    18    19    20 


1 L— 


35 

30 

26 
S20 
=  15 
^10 

There  is  another  excellent  way  to  increase  your 
attention  in  class  while  you  give  battle  to  Bogey. 
Keep  tab  of  all  questions  asked  in  a  recitation. 
Answer  each  to  yourself.  Put  down  a  one  for  each 
that  you  get  right  and  a  zero  for  each  you  have 
wrong.  Mark  yourself  after  class  on  the  scale  of 
100%.  Plot  a  curve  to  show  your  progress  from 
day  to  day.  Try  to  beat  Bogey  in  this  way.  See  if 
your  curve  will  go  upward.  Here  is  the  curve  made 
by  a  history  student  who  tried  this  method  for 
twenty  days: 


Days 
I      2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

IS 

19 

20 

00< 

^ 

90* 

/^ 

^ 

^ 

^w' 

^ 

*^ 

"" 

80* 

'^ 

p- 

^ 

sy 

'' 

'.0* 

bOt 

60* 

72  HOW  TO  STUDY 

In  order  to  put  the  zest  of  play  into  dry,  hard  work 
Summary.  ^^  stimulate  your  best  endeavor,  make  a  game  of  it. 
This  you  can  do  by  putting  behind  it  the  instinctive 
love  of  contest. 

Endeavor  to  compete  in  recitation  and  grades  with 
some  member  of  the  class  who  is  usually  of  somewhat 
higher  standing  than  yourself. 

Be  careful  in  such  emulation  that  it  does  not  develop 
into  ill  feeling. 

Try  also  to  compete  with  Bogey y  and  to  this  end  keep 
curves  of  your  efficiency  in  study  and  recitation. 

By  these  means  you  will  be  carried  through  dry, 
hard  work  without  ennui  and  with  a  maximum  of 
efficiency. 


XI.  Conserve  Your  Energies  for  Study 

Study  is  or  should  be  work;   usually  for  students 

of  high  school  age  it  is  hard  work.     It  requires  fatigue 
,      2      •     ,      .  .     ,  ,  fatal  to 

energy  to  study  effectively,  just  as  it  does  to  do  any  effective 

sort  of  work.    There  is  fatigue  of  mind  as  well  as  study. 

fatigue  of  body;    and  in  one  way  their  effect  is 

similar.     While  the  expenditure  of  hard  muscular 

energy  for  long  hours  day  after  day  soon  makes 

a  man  thin,  mental  work  does  not  so  quickly  reduce 

the  weight,  but  nevertheless  both  forms  of  fatigue 

make  study  ineffective.     It  is  important  to  know 

that  there  is  no  permanent  impression  upon  a  mind 

fatigued. 

Bodily  fatigue  is  as  fatal  to  effective  study  as 
is  mental  fatigue.  The  brain  shares  the  fatigue  of  Fatigue  due 
other  members  of  the  body.  The  lactic  acid  and  action, 
acid  potassium  phosphate  which  are  formed  in  the 
body  by  fatigue  overflow  from  the  wearied  muscles 
and  pass  with  the  blood  to  all  parts  of  the  system. 
If  some  of  the  blood  of  a  tired  horse  is  injected  into 
the  veins  of  a  fresh  one,  the  latter  will  exhibit  the 
same  symptoms  of  fatigue  as  the  fornier. 

In  physical  exhaustion  it  is  the  body,  particularly 
the  part  subjected  to  strain,  that  seems  most  weary.  Musculai 
Sometimes,   however,   serious   mental   disturbances  does  not 
result  from  bodily  fatigue.     In  any  event,   effec-  rest  the 
tive  study  is  as  impossible  in  a  state  of  physical 
exhaustion  as  it  is  in  a  state  of  mental  exhaustion. 
It  follows  from  what  has  been  said  that  it  does  not 


74  HOW  TO  STUDY 

rest  the  mind  to  engage  in  violent  physical  activity. 

There  is  a  common  misconception  on  this  point.    A 

moderate  amount  of  exercise  is  absolutely  requisite 

to  good  health.     But  the  best  remedy  for  mental 

fatigue  is   rest  of  both  mind  and  body;   and  'the 

poorest  preparation  for  an  evening  of  hard  study  is 

an  afternoon  of  exercise  so  violent  that  it  leaves  one 

physically  exhausted. 

Hard  physical  work  and  hard  mental  work  cannot 

The  unduly   j-^^  done  in  the  same  twenty-four  hours  except  bv 
"strenuous  /  .  ^       -^ 

life."  very  extraordmary  men.     The  persistent  attempt  to 

lead  a  strenuous  life  in  both  these  directions  accounts 
for  many  a  breakdown.  Nervous  prostration,  of 
which  staleness  and  overtraining  are  preliminary 
symptoms,  is  brought  on  quite  as  much  by  phys- 
ical exhaustion  as  by  too  much  mental  strain.  Of 
course,  lack  of  ambition  and  man's  inherent  tend- 
ency to  sloth  keep  nine-tenths  of  the  young  men 
from  danger  of  overwork  in  either  direction.  In  the 
case  of  the  ambitious  athlete,  what  usually  happens 
is  that  physical  weariness  easily  puts  him  to  sleep 
over  his  books.  Remember  this,  that  as  a  rule  the 
expenditure  of  great  physical  energy  precludes  the 
effective  expenditure  of  mental  energy  in  the  same 
day.  The  rare  exceptions  only  prove  the  rule.  It 
is  true  that  some  few  men  are  possessed  of  wonder- 
ful recuperative  ability.  They  will  be  found  to  be 
huge  eaters,  whose  powers  of  digestion  and  elimina- 
tion are  so  great  that  they  easily  repair  the  waste 
in  both  brain  and  body,  and  permit  large  expendi- 
ture of  energy  through  long  hours.  The  average 
man  cannot  so  eat  or  so  digest. 


STUDY  AND  FATIGUE  75 

Where  great  mental  energy  is  demanded,  phys- 
ical repose  will  be  found  advisable.     Probably  the  ^^^^  .^^^' 
,.     ,         r  ,  -1  -1     tal  activity 

greatest  display  of  mental  power  is  the  creative  work  aided  by 

of  authors.  A  group  of  New  England  authors  physical  re- 
founded  Brook  Farm,  thinking  that  they  could  be 
tillers  of  the  soil  and  authors  at  the  same  time. 
But  it  is  said  that  they  found  the  expenditure  of 
muscular  energy  in  long  hours  of  toil  incompatible 
with  a  large  output  of  creative  brain  work.  Mark 
Twain  went  to  bed  to  compose.  Here  his  body  was 
in  a  position  of  complete  relaxation  and  allowed  a 
maximum  of  energy  to  be  employed  in  creative 
effort.  A  great  French  author  also  composed  in  a 
recumbent  position.  In  a  novel  of  Arnold  Bennett's, 
called  The  Great  Man,  the  hero  is  an  author  who  dis- 
covers his  talent  as  a  writer  while  in  bed  convales- 
cing from  a  mild  case  of  measles. 
Let  not  the  young  student  gather  from  the  few 

examples  of  genius  here  given  that  he  is  to  abstain  \^^"^  °f 
f  1       .     ,  •  i^        1  1       .  .       physical  ex- 

from  physical  exercise.     On  the  contrary,  let  him  ercise. 

develop  his  physical  powers  to   the  full.     It  has 

been  found  that  high  marks  in  school  go  with  lung 

capacity.     Certainly  broad  shoulders  and  a  strong 

physique  are  best  adapted  to  bear  the  prolonged 

strain  often  necessary  in  business  and  professional 

life.     Let  the  student  acquire  all  he  can  of  both 

physical  and  mental  strength,  in  the  years  of  growth 

and  adjustment.     But  let  him  remember  that  to 

secure  a  maximum  of  power  in  either  direction  he 

must  stop  short  of  fatigue. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  student  should  not  neglect 

his  physical  nature.     Perhaps  there  is  more  danger 


76 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


Danger  in      Qf  g^ch  neglect  than  there,  is  of  too  violent  activity. 

scrimmages.  To  keep  the  mind  fresh,  a  certain  amount  of  healthy 
play  is  of  great  importance ;  but  long  scrimmages 
at  football  and  basketball,  that  leave  the  muscles 
trembling  on  the  verge  of  complete  exhaustion,  are 
altogether  fatal  to  good  scholarship.  Mountain 
climbers  who  have  exhausted  their  energies  in  the 
ascent  cannot  get  an  interesting  mental  picture  at 
the  top,  and  are  sometimes  unable  to  remember  the 
view  for  which  they  had  toiled  so  hard.  Boys 
who  come  to  their  studies  in  the  evening  utterly 
tired  out  will  be  unable  the  next  morning  to  remem- 
ber anything  they  studied  the  night  before. 

Mental  fatigue  from  hard  study  comes  sooner 
in  high  school  years  than  in  college.  It  is  not 
always  easy  to  detect  mental  fatigue.  There  is  wide 
difference  in  its  effect  on  different  minds,  and 
pathological  conditions  are  not  infrequent.  The 
more  usual  symptoms  of  mental  fatigue  are  (i)  a 
falling  off  in  the  quality  of  the  work,  owing  to  the 
greater  number  of  mistakes  made,  (2)  a  falling  off 
in  the  quantity  of  work  done  in  a  given  time,  and 
(3)  a  greater  tendency  to  be  distracted,  that  is  to 
say,  more  difficulty  in  holding  attention  on  the  work 
in  hand.  With  mental  fatigue  there  come  first 
indifference  and  a  disinclination  to  work;  then 
come  languor  and  a  craving  for  sleep.  Headache 
and  restlessness  follow.  Then  come  excitement  and 
heightened  sensitiveness,  especially  to  noises;  ner- 
vousness, irritability,  with  passionate  outbreaks  and 
hysteria  are  the  last  symptoms.  It  sometimes 
requires  months  to  recover  from  such  a  state. 


Signs  of 

mental 

fatigue. 


STUDY  AND   FATIGUE  77 

Students  who  do  not  conserve  their  energies  for 
study,  who  spend  too  much  time  in  social  Ufe  from  7^°^T^^° 
day  to  day,  in  novel  reading,  and  in  outside  activi- 
ties are  tempted  to  overwork  at  examination  time 
and  may  be  forced  to  leave  college  from  exhaustion, 
while  steady  and  really  harder  workers  continue  to 
progress. 

The  first  symptoms  of  mental  fatigue  are  hard 

to  detect.     Often  a  feeling  of  weariness  is  present  Mental 

,  .  ,         fatigue  not 

where  there  is  no  fatigue.    This  soon  passes  when  always  ap- 

one  settles  down  to  work.  On  the  other  hand,  over-  Parent, 
work  sometimes  causes  mental  exhilaration  and 
vividness  of  ideas  to  the  over-stimulated  brain.  It 
will  be  much  better  to  judge  of  mental  fatigue  by 
the  time  spent  in  work  than  by  your  own  feelings. 
When  actual  nervous  exhaustion  comes,  it  is  very 
difficult  to  get  back  to  form;  but  five  or  ten  minutes 
of  complete  rest  introduced  into  the  work  every 
forty  or  fifty  minutes  will  guard  against  such  ex- 
haustion and  keep  the  mind  fresh  for  vivid  impres- 
sions. Such  periodical  rests  will  prove  time-savers 
in  the  end. 

This  period  of  rest  should  not  be  a  change  of 

work.     There  is  stimulation  in  change  of  work  that  ^  change  of 

.  °  .        occupation 

serves  to  keep  one  gomg;   but  change  of  occupation  is  not  a  rest. 

is  not  rest.    A  short  walk  of  five  or  ten  minutes 

will  prove  restful;  but  when  the  work  is  especially 

difficult,  perhaps  the  most  helpful  aid  is  a  period 

of  complete  relaxation  of  mind  and  body. 

If  you  desire  to  do  your  school  work  with  a  maxi-  Effect  of 

mum  of  ease  and  efficiency  you  will  avoid  the  use  ado^ents. 

of    stimulants    and    narcotics.     Especially    should 


78 


HOW  TO  STUDY 


Effect  on 
scholarship. 


Effect  of 
caffeine. 


you  beware  of  coffee  and  tobacco  in  the  high  school 
years.  During  this  period  of  rapid  growth  the 
heart  is  Hable  to  weakness  and  irregularity.  All  its 
power  is  needed  to  force  the  blood  into  new  tissue 
and  capillaries.  The  work  that  nature  demands 
of  it  at  this  time  seems  almost  to  overtax  it.  To- 
bacco weakens  the  heart  and  puts  an  added  strain 
on  it.  It  thus  robs  the  system  of  vitality,  increases 
inactivity  and  laziness,  and  gives  the  face  an  ashen 
and  unhealthy  look. 

Investigations  in  a  number  of  schools  and  colleges 
have  shown  that  smokers  lose  from  ten  to  fifteen 
per  cent  of  efficiency.  Boys  of  only  ordinary  ability 
usually  become  failures  when  they  take  up  the 
habit  of  smoking.  Some  think  that  the  smoker's 
poor  showing  is  due  not  to  the  narcotic,  but  to  a 
general  deterioration  of  character  of  which  the  smok- 
ing, like  the  low  grades,  is  a  symptom,  not  a  cause. 
This  might  hold  true  were  it  not  that  students  who 
smoke  openly  at  home  with  the  full  consent  of 
parents  and  without  thought  of  wrongdoing  are 
almost  as  badly  affected  by  the  habit  as  are  the 
conscious  recreants.  The  grades  of  these,  just 
as  of  the  other  young  smokers,  fall  off  upon  con- 
tracting the  habit  and  rise  upon  breaking  it. 

Coffee  is  a  stimulant.  Under  its  immediate 
effect  students  can  keep  on  working  when  fatigued. 
For  that  very  reason  the  stimulant  is  dangerous. 
Like  tobacco,  it  taxes  the  heart.  It  usually  affects 
the  stomach  and  liver  injuriously,  and  soon  takes 
away  healthy  tone.  While  the  immediate  effect 
is  to  stimulate  the  cerebrum,  increasing  the  reason- 


STUDY  AND  FATIGUE  79 

ing  powers  and  the  imagination,  the  ultimate  effect 
of  caffeine  is  to  deaden  the  mind.  No  athlete  can 
keep  in  condition  on  coffee  and  tobacco.  Neither 
can  the  young  student.  Growing  youths  especially 
should  abjure  tea,  coffee,  and  tobacco. 

Very  much  can  be  done  to  conserve  your  energies 
for  study  by  watching  the  diet.  Eat  your  hearty  T^^.f^"," 
meal  when  you  can  have  an  hour  or  more  of  rest 
loUowing  it.  The  system  needs  at  least  one  hearty 
meal  a  day  and  it  requires  energy  to  digest  it.  You 
have  noticed  how  in  the  case  of  sickness  the  phy- 
sician orders  abstention  from  all  hearty  foods  and. 
prescribes  a  diet  of  broth,  milk,  or  thin  gruel.  He 
knows  that  the  system  must  have  strength  and 
energy  with  which  to  throw  off  the  disease  and 
recuperate,  and  that  this  energy  should  not  be  used 
up  in  digesting  food.  Besides,  the  patient  often 
lacks  strength  to  digest  the  hearty  food.  When  you 
want  energy  for  other  work,  lessen  your  demands 
on  the  stomach.  Those  who  eat  a  hearty  midday 
meal  should  not  begin  work  again  before  two 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  If  you  wish  energy  for 
study  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  you  must  avoid  a 
hearty  lunch. 

Most  people  find  it  difficult  to  do  mental  work 
after  eating  beef.  Rare  beef  requires  less  energy  Effect  of 
for  its  digestion  than  that  which  is  thoroughly  foods, 
cooked;  lamb  and  mutton  require  less  than  veal, 
pork,  or  beef.  Fish  is  regarded  as  particularly  good 
for  brain  workers  because  it  is  so  easily  digested. 
•The  digestibility  of  food,"  says  Hutchison,  *'is 
of  far  greater  concern  to  a  brain  worker  than  its 


8o  HOW  TO  STUDY 

chemical  composition."  The  practice  of  overeat- 
ing, or  ghittony,  produces  weariness  similar  to 
actual  fatigue.  Such  weariness  comes  from  uric 
poisoning,  the  effect  of  which  is  incapacity  for 
mental  work. 

Here  are  some  health  hints  that  will  add  to  your 
happiness  and  efficiency  as  a  student. 
How  to  keep       j-^   ^at    slowly    of    the    foods    that    agree    with 
m  training.  -     ^      u  t         i,  •       \    j 

you  —  sparmgly   beiore  heavy  exercise,   study,   or 

recitation,  very  sparingly  when  overtired  or  ex- 
cited. 

2.  Drink  a  glass  of  water  on  rising  and  on  retir- 
ing, and  plentifully  between  meals. 

3.  Breathe  deeply  before  an  open  window  for  five 
or  ten  minutes  on  rising  and  on  retiring,  and  venti- 
late your  room  both  night  and  day. 

4.  Exercise  regularly  and  enjoy  it  to  the  full. 
Warm  up  gradually  and  finish  quietly,  stopping 
short  of  fatigue. 

5.  Bathe  after  moderate  exercise.  Begin  with 
warm  water  and  end  with  a  dash  of  cool.  Apply 
the  coarse  towel  vigorously. 

6.  Sleep  regularly,  at  least  eight  hours  in  twenty- 
four.  When  nervously  tired  and  unable  to  sleep, 
take  a  warm  bath  before  retiring. 

7.  Rest  at  proper  intervals  the  mind  as  well  as 
the  body.  The  amount  of  rest  needed  varies  with 
age  and  with  strength  as  well  as  with  the  difficulty 
of  the  work.  Most  freshmen  in  high  school  need 
to  relax  for  five  or  ten  minutes  after  a  half  hour 
of  strained  attention.  Most  college  students  need 
to  relax  after  an  hour. 


STUDY  AND  FATIGUE  8i 

Stop  short  of  fatigue^  for  there  is  no  impression  upon  Summary. 
a  mind  fatigued. 

Take  intervals  of  at  least  ten  minutes  for  rest  in  every 
hour  J  and  especially  after  finishing  a  lesson  or  unit 
of  study. 

Do  fiot  try  to  study  when  the  body  is  fatigued  or  after 
a  hearty  meal. 

Avoid  stimulants  and  narcotics. 

If  you  would  give  yourself  to  effective  study j  avoid  too 
frequent  social  functions  of  an  exciting  character. 

And  finally,  regulate  your  diet  so  that  it  will  give  a 
maximum  of  energy  when  you  need  it. 


PART   II 
WHAT  TO   STUDY   AND   HOW 

"  For  they  [studies]  teach  not  their  own  use." 

—  FRANCIS   BACON 


FOREWORD  TO  PART  II 

A  generation  or  two  ago  students  in  academies, 
high  schools,  and  colleges  had  very  little  choice  as 
to  what  they  studied.  The  course  was  limited; 
Latin,  Greek,  and  mathematics  comprised  a  large 
part  of  the  curriculum.  In  four  years'  time  students 
graduated  because  they  had  completed  about  all 
the  work  the  school  or  college  had  to  offer  them. 
In  the  present  generation  it  would  take  more  than  a 
lifetime  to  complete  all  the  work  offered  in  one  of 
the  great  universities;  it  would  require  at  least  ten 
years  to  complete  the  work  offered  in  a  modern 
high  school. 

From  the  great  number  of  studies  offered,  the 
elective  system  becomes  a  necessity.  You  must 
choose  a  course  from  many  alternatives,  and  to 
choose  wisely  you  should  have  in  advance  a  general 
knowledge  of  the  subject-matter  in  each  study  and 
should  know  what  value  it  offers  you. 

When  every  student  was  carrying  exactly  the 
same  studies,  no  one  was  haunted  by  the  fear  that 
he  had  not  chosen  the  right  course.  As  it  is  today, 
John  Jones,  who  has  elected  Latin,  sees  that  Will 
Smith  is  taking  no  Latin  at  all;  and  he  begins  to 
doubt  its  value  for  himself,  especially  when  he  sees 
that  Smith's  mechanical  drawing  is  much  easier  than 
Latin.  So  students  are  tempted  to  drift  from  one 
subject  to  another,  taking  a  smattering  of  this  and 


86  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

a  smattering  of  that,  and  getting  no  strong  grasp 
of  anything. 

A  few  hints  as  to  the  value  of  various  subjects 
are  given  in  the  following  pages  in  the  hope  that 
they  may  guide  you  in  arriving  at  a  reasonable 
choice  of  studies,  or  strengthen  your  purpose  when 
a  choice  has  already  been  made.  In  connection 
with  the  discussion  of  some  subjects  there  are  also 
brief  suggestions  as  to  proper  methods  of  studying 
in  order  to  secure  the  best  results. 


WHAT  TO   STUDY   AND   HOW 

I.  Why  Study  History? 
"Histories  make  men  wise." 

That  it  is  greatly  to  the  advantage  of  man  for  his 
brain  to  be  highly  developed  is  more  than  a  mere  fi[°  g^^|.i^^ 
truism.     It  is  this  development  that  enables  him  to  ence  of 
add  to  his  knowledge  through  the  medium  of  words  °^^^^s- 
and  even  from  the  printed  page.     Other  people  can 
help  him  by  their  advice.     He  can  thus  guide  his 
conduct  by  ideas  and  principles  that  come  to  him 
unverified  by  his  own  senses.    In  short,  he  can  profit 
by  the  experience  of  others.    All  education  is  based 
upon  this  fact. 

From  their  earliest  years  children  refram  from 
doing  what  they  learn  to  be  harmful,  and  do  that  J^^^^" 
which  they  learn  is  pleasurable.  Without  such  re- 
fraining and  such  acting  they  could  not  preserve  their 
lives.  They  hear  of  some  one  who  got  in  front  of  a 
street  car,  was  run  over,  and  killed  or  badly  injured. 
They  avoid  the  danger  of  street  cars.  They  hear 
of  some  one  who  died  from  eating  toadstools;  and 
in  consequence  they  avoid  the  poisonous  mushroom. 
Some  one  says  that  thorn  apples  and  the  fruit  of 
mandrakes  are  good  to  eat;  and  the  child  goes 
into  the  woods  to  find  these  wild  fruits. 

In  the  more  complex  situations  of  later  life,  — 
situations   that  involve  proper  social   conduct,  —  ^"  youth. 


88  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

we  constantly  hear  young  people  making  over  the 
experiences  of  others  into  guide  lines  for  themselves. 

"Jennie  did  thus  and  so;  and  see  what  happened 
in  her  case." 

"William  tried  to  do  some  impossible  thing,  and 
had  his  trouble  for  his  pains." 

"It  was  thus  that  John  made  a  fool  of  himself." 

"Everyone  is  talking  about  Henry  and  how 
splendid  he  is;  in  such  and  such  a  situation  he 
acted  in  this  commendable  way." 

And  from  all  these  experiences  of  others,  judg- 
ments are  made  and  principles  of  conduct  are  formed 
that  guide  the  youth  into  wiser  behavior  and  enable 
him  to  shun  folly  and  misfortune. 

History  is  largely  the  study  of  behavior.  From 
History  en-    j^g  pages  the  student  can  learn  how  men  down  the 

rdIcs  dcodIc 

to  profit        ages  have  conducted  themselves  in  the  complex  and 

from  the        trying   situations   that  have   arisen.     The   test   of 
experience         .        ,  ,       .  •         .  • 

of  nations      time  has  passed  a  juster  sentence  upon  taeir  actions 

and  of  indi-    ^-j^^n  can  be  passed  upon  the  transient  conduct  of 

the  student's  associates;  and  the  field  of  action  is 

vastly  enlarged.     From  history  the  teachable  youth 

cannot  help  gathering  wisdom   to   guide   his  own 

conduct  in  similar  situations  that  arise  as  history 

repeats   itself   in   various   lines   of   behavior.     For 

instance,  it  is  hard  to  imagine  a  historical-minded 

man  who  would  bolt  and  run  in  battle.     He  knows 

too  well   the  consequences  of  such  action.     And, 

besides,  nobler  ideas  have  been  set  before  him  — 

ideas  that  consciously  or  unconsciously  must  rule 

his   conduct.     Treachery   would   be   as   impossible 

as  uncontrolled  cowardice.     It  is  of  no  consequence 


HISTORY  89 

whether  he  recalls  specific  instances  of  either  from 
his  history.  The  facts  may  have  been  forgotten 
so  far  as  conscious  memory  is  concerned.  But  they 
remain,  subconsciously,  if  not  consciously,  the 
basis  for  everyday  judgments  and  decisions  as  to 
personal  conduct. 

On   the   historian's   page   moral   conduct,   espe- 
cially, is  seen  put  to  the  test;    and  its  results  are  ?°^  lustory 
•' '  ^  '  imparts  wis- 

spread   before   the   student.     Here   sloth,    cruelty,  dom  as  to 

treachery,  and  cowardice  reap  their  rewards.     The  "ght  per- 
•"  ^  .11    sonal  con- 

king who  could  not  forgive  an  enemy  or  wm  back  duct. 

a  lost  friend,  gets  himself  beheaded  at   the  last; 

the  pleasure-loving  prince  loses  his  kingdom ;  and  the 

cruel  tyrant  gets  his  return  in  hate,  and  falls  by  the 

avenger's    knife.    The    pages    of    history    contain 

examples  also  of  the  deeds  of  the  good  and  the  true. 

The  courageous  Leonidas  by  his  own  devoted  death 

teaches  victorious  heroism  to  the   Greeks;    Peter 

the  Great  studies  the  arts  of  other  kingdoms  to 

apply  them  to  his  own;   the  persistent  Washington, 

tireless  and  hopeful  to  the  last,  finally  wrings  victory 

from  defeat. 

Men  are  gregarious;  like  bees  and  ants,  they  live 
and  work  together.  The  success  of  the  race  is 
largely  due  to  cooperation  in  industry,  in  govern- 
ment, in  education,  in  effort  of  various  kinds.  All 
history  enforces  this  truth. 

All  the  social,  political,  religious,  and  economic 
institutions  of  the  present  day  have  grown  out  of  ^^ ^^  .^^^} 
the  past;  and  unless  we  know  the  past,  or  at  least  conduct, 
know   something    of    the   origin  and  development 
of  these  institutions,  we  cannot  fully  understand 


90  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

them.  The  relations  of  one  country  with  another, 
or  the  situation  existing  at  any  time  between  na- 
tions, whether  of  war  or  peace,  cannot  be  appre- 
ciated or  even  understood  except  by  one  acquainted 
with  the  history  of  nations.  The  probable  effect 
of  any  political  movement  or  legislative  measure 
at  home  can  be  known  only  by  the  statesman  who 
is  acquainted  with  the  historical  bias  of  his  people. 
Such  a  one  will  know  in  advance  how  a  measure  may 
be  regarded  both  at  home  and  abroad;  and  what 
means  or  arguments  must  be  applied  to  carry  and 
enforce  it.  We  see  in  Burke  how  greatly  a  knowl- 
edge of  history  may  help  a  statesman.  He  saw 
how  to  avert  the  American  Revolution.  His  speech 
on  Conciliation  has  done  more  to  keep  the  British 
Empire  together  since  the  American  War  than 
England's  armies  and  warships  have  done. 

Historical  study  is  especially  valuable  in  a  self- 
Value  of  his-  governing  republic  like  ours,  in  which  every  man 
to  the  prac-  must  be  to  some  extent  a  statesman,  able  to  form 

tical  re-         rational  judgments  on  public  matters.     To  the  man 
former.  .  ,  i  .        .     ,  i      /  ^  ti       i 

with  no  historical  background,  events  seem  like  the 

working  of  blind  chance.  The  student  of  history 
alone  sees  reasons  for  what  happens,  and  he  alone 
is  able  intelligently  to  put  his  shoulder  to  the  wheel 
of  progress  and  help  to  move  it  in  desirable  direc- 
tions. By  reason  of  historical  study  he  can  become 
a  more  effective  social  worker  and  reformer.  His- 
tory ,makes  for  social  efficiency  and  for  wisdom  in 
its  broad  sense. 

There  are  usually  four  years  of  history  offered  in 
high  schools.      Ancient  history  comes  first;    then 


HISTORY  91 

medieval   and   modern    history,    the   second   year;  Advice  as  to 

1  •    1  1    A         •  1  •  what  course 

English  history,  the  third;    and  American  history  in  history  to 

and  civics,  the  fourth.     Suppose  a  student  has  but  choose  when 

, .     .  '.  ,  ,  .  ,  -  but  one  or 

a  limited  time  to  devote  to  history  and  must  choose  two  years' 

one  or  two  courses  only,  what  should  he  choose?       ^^j"^  ^^  P^^ 

If  college  is  to  follow  the  preparatory  course,  prob- 
ably history  in  the  high  school  should  be  taken  up 
in  chronological  order,  with  ancient  history  given 
the  preference  when  only  a  year's  work  is  done. 
College  work  can  fill  up  the  gap.  When  a  classical 
course  is  followed,  ancient  history  should  be  taken 
early  in  the  course.  It  w^ill  give  meaning  and  interest 
to  the  Latin  and  Greek. 

If  college  is  not  to  follow  high  school,  then  first 
importance  should  be  assigned  to  American  history 
and  civics  in  the  senior  year.  If  two  years  can  be 
devoted  to  this  study,  let  the  second  choice  be 
European  history,  to  precede  the  study  of  American 
history. 

How  TO  Study  History 

First  recall  what  you  learned  in  the  previous 

assignment.    Then  run  over  the  title  and  subtitles  The  value  of 
f    ?  .  1  IT/.  1-        prehminary 

of  the  topic  you  are  about  to  study.     If  an  outline  reflection 

of  the  topic  is  given  in  the  table  of  contents,  read  ^"^  recall. 

it.     Reflect  to  see  if  the  titles  and  subtitles  suggest 

answers  to  problems  that  came  up  in  previous  study, 

or  to  questions  that  occur  to  you  now.     See  if  you 

can  recall  ever  having  read  anything  on  the  subject. 

A  few  minutes  spent  in  this  preparatory  work  will 

do  two  things  for  you:    (i)  it  will  warm  you  up  to 

the  work  by  getting  your  brain  cells  active  and 


92  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

whetting  your  curiosity  and  interest;  and  (2)  it 
will  enable  you  to  grasp  and  retain  what  you  read 
by  associating  the  new  ideas  with  the  old. 

Now  read  on  through  the  whole  assignment  to 
^^udyingby  gg|-  ^  complete  outline  of  the  topic.     Do  not  stop 
before  the  end.     You  will  thus  link  causes,  results, 
likenesses,  contrasts — whatever  relations  may  exist; 
and  in  filling  in  the  details  later  you  will  be  able 
to   appreciate   the   true  value   and   significance  of 
each  detail  because  you  see  each  in  the  light  of  the 
whole.    This   continuous   reading   will   enable  you 
(i)  to  get  the  connections  and  hence  to  remember 
the  lesson  better,  and  (2)  to  understand  and  appre- 
ciate the  details. 
In  the  second  reading  stop  to  recall  from  para- 
Recalling  as  graph  to  paragraph,  and  to  reflect  upon  the  thought 
and  oiitlin-     conveyed,  the  events  narrated,  and  the  characters 
ing.  portrayed,  passing  your  judgment  on  the  conduct 

of  the  historical  actors.  Finally,  make  an  outline 
or  synopsis  of  the  history  lesson,  grouping  lesser 
details  under  the  more  important  headings  which 
they  support.  Run  over  this  outline  with  your  eye 
at  a  later  time,  perhaps  just  before  going  to  class, 
and  fill  in  by  recalling  in  greater  detail  what  is  here 
only  suggested.     Visualize  the  outline. 


II.  Why  Study  Latin? ^ 

Latin  has  great  value  as  a  help  in  the  develop- 
ment of  an  English  vocabulary.     A  large  part  of  ^^^^'^  ^"" 

-r.      ,.  ,  ,     ,  c  T       •         •  1  creases  the 

our   Lnglish   vocabulary   conies   Irom    Latin   either  power  to 

directly  or  indirectly  through  the  medium  of  Nor-  ^^^^  ^"^   , 
_,,„,-:.  1       r  understand 

man-French.     The  Latin  words  of  our  language  are  English. 

longer  and  more  unusual  than  the  Anglo-Saxon. 
Such  words  are  valuable  for  the  expression  of  more 
subtle  and  difficult  thought,  because,  being  less 
used,  they  are  of  narrower  and  more  exact  mean- 
ing. The  study  of  Latin  is  thus  a  roundabout 
method  of  learning  to  read  difficult  English. 

The  practice  of  translating  from  Latin  into  English 

is  a  direct  method  of  learning  to  write  and  speak  Translation 
T^,.,        T-i  1  ...  ...         mav  be  a 

English.     It  IS  the  only  training  m  composition  that  good  form 

the  great  English  writers  received.     Only  recently  °^  English 
,        z,      ,.  ,  •  .       ,  ,      .       ,  ,1.     composition, 

has  English  composition  been  taught  in  the  public 

schools   of   England.     The   practice   of   translating 

gives  accuracy  and  skill  in  the  choice  of  words.     To 

select  from  a  half-dozen  meanings  and  synonyms  the 

right  English  equivalent  for  a  Latin  word  requires 

a  study  of  words  in  their  nice  shades  of  meaning, 

and  such  study  proves  of  immense  value  to  those 

who  become  writers  or  speakers.     Thus  Latin  helps 

the  student  to  acquire  a  larger  English  vocabulary 

and   a   more   accurate   and  discriminating   use   of 

words. 

*  About  the  best  brief  for  Latin  that  has  appeared  in  recent 
years  is  that  of  H.  Rushton  Fairclough,  "The  Practical  Hear- 
ing of  Latin,"  Classical  Journal,  December,  19 14. 


94  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

A  knowledge  of  this  language  is  of  advantage  in 

Latin  help-    several    other    directions.     It    helps    in    acquirinff 
ful  m  spell-  ,       -  .     ,    ,    -r^        ,    ^       .  , 

ing,  modern  modern  languages,  more  particularly  French,  Spanish, 

languages,      ^nd  Italian,  which  are  derived  from  it.     It  is  a  de- 

and  in  his-      .,,,,.,  n.  <.  ^      ..  , 

torical  in-     cided  help  m  the  spelling  of  many  English  words 

terpretation.  of  Latin  origin.  Such  blunders  as  come  from  con- 
fusing ible  and  able  or  from  writing  ^f^cribe  for 
(/escribe  are  not  likely  to  be  made  by  Latin  scholars. 
Finally,  Latin  gives  a  clearer  understanding  and 
appreciation  of  the  history  and  civilization  of  the 
Roman  people.  Its  value  will  readily  be  perceived 
when  we  come  to  know  that  only  by  contrast  and 
comparison  with  the  ancient  civilizations,  we  can 
really  see  and  understand  the  significant  things  in 
modern  life. 

How  TO  Study  Latin 

To  learn  Latin  requires  in  the  first  year  or  two 
a  great  deal  of  memory  drill.  The  learning  of  forms 
and  paradigms  and  the  building  up  of  a  vocabulary 
necessitate  a  great  deal  of  repetition.  Here  are  a 
few  rules  which  apply  to  drill  work. 

Principles  of  Drill 

1.  Distribute  repetitions  over  several  short  sittings  rather 
than  one  long  one. 

2.  Repeat  in  rhythm,  as  in  the  synoptical  verb  endings: 

0  ham  ho 

i  eram  ero 

(Most  forms  and  rules  can  be  rhythmically  chanted). 

3.  Stop  short  of  fatigue;  and  cease  all  activity  for  five  or 
ten  minutes  after  completing  an  assignment,  lest  the  new 
work  inhibit  fLxing  the  old. 

4.  Practice  at  increasing  intervals. 


LATIN  95 

5.  Go  slowly  at  first  to  avoid  mistakes.     Every  mistake  in 
recall  lengthens  the  time  required  to  memorize. 

6.  Memorize  by  wholes  rather  than  by  sections  to  establish 
all  the  associations;  but  go  back  to  special  difficulties. 

7.  Establish  all  possible  connections. 

a.  Recall  your  English  grammar  for  comparison. 

h.  Recall  EngUsh  derivatives  in  learning  vocabularies. 

8.  Study  aloud  or  with  lips  moving. 

9.  Use  multiple  imagery;  i.e.,  write  the  forms,  say  the  forms, 
and  see  the  forms  which  you  are  memorizing. 

Besides  the  drill  work  of  the  first  year  or  two 
there  will  be  much  translating  to  be  done  from  Latin  j^^^.  ^^'^^  ^^ 
authors.     Caesar,   Cicero,  and  Virgil,  perhaps  also  literal  trans- 
Nepos   and  Ovid,   will  be   read  in   the   secondary  Nations, 
school.     Here  let  us  post  a  warning.     Students  are 
sometimes  tempted  to  make  use  of  literal  transla- 
tions in  the  preparation  of  their  work.     Avoid  this 
error.     Discontinue  the  study  if  you  are  unwilling 
to  do  the  work  necessary  to  translate  for  yourself. 
The  "cribber"  is  doomed  to  early  failure  in  the 
study  of  Latin. 

Notwithstanding  what  has  been  said  of  the  folly 
of  using  literal  translations,  the  use  of  a  free  trans-  Proper  use 
lation  —  such,  for  instance,  as  is  found  in  that  set  of  translations, 
the  classics  published  by  Vincent  Parke  and  Com- 
pany—  may  be  of  much  value.  If  you  will  read 
rapidly  a  free  and  spirited  translation  of  Caesar, 
Cicero,  or  Virgil  in  the  summer  vacation  previous 
to  the  study  of  the  author,  you  will  increase  your 
interest,  understanding,  and  power. 

Before  beginning  an  assignment  of  translation,  Method  of 
11     ,        1         1         r     1  .  workmpre- 

recall  the  thought  of  the  previous  passage;    next  paring  an 

translate  at  sight  to  get  the  general  drift  of  the  assignment. 


96  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

author's  thought.  Now  go  back  and  look  up  the 
new  words,  testing  for  accuracy  by  judging  whether 
the  sentence  makes  good  sense  itself  and  is  con- 
sistent with  other  sentences.  As  a  final  preparation, 
translate  the  whole  passage  aloud.  Learn  the 
common  words  thoro\ighly  to  avoid  waste  of  time 
in  turning  to  the  vocabulary.  Keep  up  a  systematic 
study  of  grammar  to  get  a  connected  view  of  the 
whole  subject. 


III.  Why  Study  English? 

Under  the  head  English  are  usually  grouped  as 

many  as  five  different  related  subjects.     They  are  Variety  of 

•^  ^  •'     ,       work  under 

English  literature,  composition,  grammar,  rhetoric,  heading  of 

and  spelling.     To  these  are  often  added  oral  read-  ^^i^^^h. 

ing  and  public  speaking.     Thus  the  question,  "Why 

study    English?"    becomes    complicated.    Let    us 

first  ask  — 

Why  Study  English  Literature? 

This  very  question  has  been  asked  of  me  more 

than  once  by  hard-headed  students  who  can  find  no  ^^^  artistic 

1  •     •  1      •  1     1       rr^i  element  m 

Utility  in  the  artistic  and  purely  ideal.     There  are  literature 

persons  who  are  tone  deaf,  and  consequently  unable  cannot  be 

,.     .        .  ,  .     ,     -  appreciated 

to  distinguish  a  note  at  one  pitch  from  a  note  at  equally  by 

another.  To  these,  music  is  only  noise.  There  ^^'• 
are  also  persons  who  cannot  distinguish  one  color 
from  another.  We  call  them  color-blind;  and  we 
expect  from  them  little  appreciation  of  the  work  of 
great  painters.  Through  some  unaccountable  de- 
fect there  are  those  also  who  liavc  no  appreciation 
of  the  artistic  in  literature.  1  lure  iirc  people  who 
do  not  like  poetry  of  any  kind  and  who  never  will 
like  it.  Artistic  expression,  conveying  to  most 
minds  the  delightful  subtleties  of  rhythm,  mood,  and 
happily  chosen  words,  conveys  nothing  but  bald  fact 
to  them.  They  cannot  see  the  utility  of  literature. 
Happily  these  unfortunate  ones  are  very  few.     In 

every   course   in   literature   the   great   majority   of  Ethical  in- 

,  /-     ,  •  r     ,  , .  ,  1  ,  fiuence  of 

students  iina  new  springs  of  delight  and  need  no  literature. 

further  reason  for  studying  it.     Such  pure  pleasure 


98 


WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 


Good  novels 
are  studies 
of  human 
behavior, 
and  effec- 
tive models 
of  expres- 
sion. 


Tendency 
to  imitate 
the  speech 
of  those 
about  us. 


is  its  own  excuse  for  being.  It  is  the  poet's  function 
to  make  beautiful  the  good,  the  heroic,  the  ideally- 
true —  to  make  them  desirable  to  visions  less 
inspired  than  his.  Literature  thus  ennobles  life. 
Nowhere  in  the  school  course  can  the  old  Latin 
proverb  be  quoted  with  more  confidence  of  its  truth: 
SMia  abeunt  in  mores  (Studies  pass  over  into 
character). 

Novel  reading,  if  too  much  time  is  given  to  it, 
may  become  a  vice.  But  in  general  the  good  novels 
are  highly  valuable.  They  give  a  better  under- 
standing of  human  nature,  engender  higher  ideals, 
and,  like  history,  afford  a  study  of  human  behavior 
that  becomes  the  subconscious  basis  of  wiser  personal 
conduct.  Good  novels  employing  the  sterling  words 
of  everyday  life  are  especially  helpful  in  improving 
the  student's  own  use  of  English.  Foreign-born  stu- 
dents from  homes  where  no  English  is  spoken  often 
acquire  style  and  vocabulary  from  the  good  authors 
that  they  read  in  school;  and  as  a  result  they  speak 
polished  English.  Observant  teachers  qf  English 
composition  can  nearly  always  see  in  their  students^ 
themes  the  good  effect  of  some  English  author  that 
is  being  studied  and  imitated  at  the  time. 

Why  Study  English  Grammar? 

In  forming  habits  of  speech  imitation,  as  a  rule, 
is  more  powerful  than  precept.  With  ease  we  fall 
into  the  use  of  the  language  of  those  about  us; 
with  difficulty  we  correct  our  speech  through  con- 
scious study  and  effort.  If  those  about  us  use  good 
English,  we  use  good  English.     If  their  English  is 


ENGLISH  99 

faulty,  so  will  ours  be  faulty.  It  often  happens 
that  a  person  with  incorrect  habits  of  speech  changes 
his  place  of  living,  falls  in  with  cultivated  people, 
gradually  discards  the  solecisms  and  crudities  of 
his  earlier  practice,  and  adopts  a  manner  of  speech 
like  that  of  his  new  associates.  If  he  returns  to  the 
home  of  his  childhood,  he  quickly  falls  back  into 
the  old  mistakes  of  grammar. 

One  advantage  of  grammar  study  is  that  it  frees 
the  student  to  a  considerable  extent  from  the  in-  Grammar 
fluence  of  the  incorrect  speech  habits  of  his  associ-  more  reli- 
ates.     Many  people  try  to  test  their  grammar  by  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^^ 
"the  way  it  sounds  to  them."    Of  course  this  is  an  speech, 
adequate  test  if  they  are  in  the  habit  of  hearing  and 
speaking  only  correct  English.     But  to  the  person 
who  hears  only  "It  is  me,"  the  correct  form,  "It  is 
/,"  sounds  wrong.     In  many  ears,  "You  do  that 
good"  sounds  more  natural  and  better  than  "You 
do  that  well."    A  study  of  grammar  gives  fixed  rules 
with  which  to  test  one's  speech  at  any  time,  inde- 
pendently of  habit  or  environment. 

Incorrect    grammar,    like    incorrect    spelling,    is  Poor  gram- 
always  taken  as  a  badge  of  inferiority.     In  these  mar  and 
days  of  free  and  universal  education,   a  man  or  often  re- 
woman  who  has  never  taken  pains  to  acquire  correct  ?f  ^^  ^^ 
speech  and  spelling  is  set  down  as  little  above  a  inferiority, 
defective. 

A  good  knowledge  of  English  grammar  is  an  ex-  English 
cellent  preparation  for  the  study  of  any  foreign  grammar  as 
language.    Grammar  is  a  science  with  universal  laws,  tion  for  the 
Every  language  must  have   its  direct   object,   its  ^tudy  of 
predicate  noun  or  adjective,  its  phrases,  participles,  guages. 


lOO 


WHAT  TO   STUDY  AND   HOW 


Grammar 
leads  to 
thought 
analysis  and 
helps  in  the 
use  of  punc- 
tuation. 


Summary. 


infinitives,  and  its  dependent  clauses,  expressing 
various  subordinate  relations  as  in  English.  It  is 
far  easier  to  learn  a  foreign  language  if  you  have 
thoroughly  mastered  English  grammar. 

The  study  of  grammar  includes  practice  in 
analyzing  English  sentences.  Analysis  is  a  sure 
help  to  the  reader  in  getting  the  thought  from 
difficult  passages.  The  thought  can  scarcely  es- 
cape a  reader  who  has  learned  to  see  quickly  the 
substantive  subject,  the  verb,  and  predicate  of  a 
sentence,  and  to  discern  the  subordinate  elements, 
either  grouped  as  phrases  and  clauses,  or  modifying 
singly  as  adjectives  and  adverbs.  Punctuation, 
too,  becomes  a  valuable  aid  to  the  reader  who 
knows  grammar;  and  it  is  equally  valuable  to  the 
writer. 

Thus  we  see  that  the  too  frequently  neglected 
subject  of  English  grammar  is  really  vital  to  the 
interests  of  every  student.  By  it  he  is  enabled 
(i)  to  make  a  better  impression  and  to  express 
himself  more  clearly;  (2)  to  see  more  clearly  the 
relations  within  the  sentences  he  reads,  and  so 
more  readily  understand  the  thought;  (3)  to  acquire 
a  knowledge  of  the  universal  science  of  grammar 
so  that  he  can,  if  occasion  arises,  learn  a  foreign 
language  with  comparative  ease. 


Why  Study  Composition  and  Rhetoric? 

Composition  and  rhetoric  include  the  practice  and 
theory  of  writing  effective  English.  Only  a  very 
few  of  the  students  in  high  school  will  ever  make 
a  living  as  authors;   but  all  will  find  these  studies 


ENGLISH  loi 

useful.     They  will   add   to   the   slud»:iM,l^  J-*  i's<>jml 

satisfaction,  enable  him  to  add  to  the  pleasure  of 

others,  and  increase  his  social  and  business  efficiency, 

no  matter  what  vocation  he  may  follow. 

No  one  can  appreciate  art  so  fully  as  he  who  has 

handled   the  artist's  brush  himself.     No   one   can  '^^5  writer 

u  4.1.  u      u       w         ^t   gains  appre- 

enjoy  music  so  much  as  the  one  who  has  himself  ciation  and 

learned  to  play  some  instrument  or  to  sing.     Simi-  pleasure 

,         ,.  .,  "Om  exer- 

larly,  in  regard  to  literature,  if  you  are  to  get  a  cise  of  the 

maximum  of  enjoyment  out  of  the  master  writers,  creative  m- 

,        "^  .  ,/    stuict. 

you  must  make  some  progress  as  a  writer  yourself. 

There  is  also  great  satisfaction  in  having  expressed 

something  well.     For  the  reward  of  composition, 

like  that  of  all  creative  work,  is  a  sense  of  personal 

satisfaction  and  enjoyment  —  the  purest  and  noblest 

to  be  found. 

So  much  for  the  personal  gratification  that  skill 

in  comi)osition  brings.     It  can  add  greatly  to  the  '^^.^  8^^^ 
.  11       X       II    r  1  writer  can 

happiness  of  others  as  well.     I  call  frequently  on  add  greatly 

parents  whose  son  is  a  missionary  in  China.     The  ^?  ^^^  ^^P" 

,       ,     ,  .        .  ...        ,  .  ,  .  ,   pmess  of 

son  has  had  a  university  training  in  which  special  others. 

emphasis  was  laid  upon  English  composition  and 
rhetoric.  He  now  writes  home  long  letters  on  his 
life  and  work  in  that  far-away  land.  His  parents 
read  again  and  again  these  clear  and  interesting 
letters.  The  neighbors  come  in  to  enjoy  them. 
Their  publication  would,  of  course,  greatly  enlarge 
the  number  of  readers;  but  even  in  the  little  circle 
of  the  home  and  immediate  friends  of  the  family 
they  are  decidedly  worth  while.  It  is  inconceivable 
that  any  person  trained  in  good  English  expres- 
sion should  go  through  life  without  adding  by  his 


T02  \\:i.M'  TO   STUDY  AND   HOW 

Litters  to  friends  and  relatives  to  the  sum  of  their 
happiness;  or  that  he  should  refuse  to  contribute 
papers  to  the  clubs  and  associations  to  which  he 
belongs,  even  if  he  never  writes  for  publication. 

There  is  an  important  field  for  good  English  ex- 
pression in  the  business  world  today.     A  large  part 
Importance    Qf  ^j^^.  business  of  the  world  is  done  by  correspond- 
business        ence.      Merchandise  worth   millions   of   dollars   is 
letter.  bought  and  sold  every  year  by  letter  only.     Letters 

tell  how  it  is  to  be  shipped,  when,  where,  to  whom, 
at  what  prices,  and  by  what  express  companies  or 
railways.  Letters  make  complaints  also,  and  clear 
up  misunderstandings.  Carelessness  in  the  word- 
ing of  these  letters  —  lack  of  clearness  and  precision 
—  sometimes  results  in  heavy  losses  to  merchants 
and  shippers;  for  if  mistakes  are  made  in  filling 
orders  customers  are  dissatisfied  and  their  patronage 
is  lost. 

To  handle   this  vast   correspondence   thousands 

Business        of  young  men  and  women  are  employed  in  our  large 

correspond-       .  .  .        , 

ence  opens     cities.     They  must  know  how  to  write  clear,  concise, 

a  wide  field    courteous,  grammatical  letters,  properly  spelled  and 

of     useful-  ,  rr^l  1  11'^ 

ness.  punctuated.     Ihe   letters   must   state   clearly   just 

what  is  meant,  so  that  no  costly  mistakes  shall 
occur.  To  insure  clearness,  and  also  to  conserve 
the  standing  of  the  firm,  the  spelling  and  grammar 
must  be  correct.  People  do  not  trust  ignorant 
business  men;  they  prefer  to  do  business  with  those 
whose  correspondence  reflects  credit  on  their  educa- 
tion and  intelligence.  The  letters  must  be  precise, 
which  means  short  and  to  the  point;  for  busi- 
ness men  are  always  in  a  hurry,  and  have  not  time 


ENGLISH  103 

to  read  a  single  word  more  than  is  necessary.  Fi- 
nally the  letters  must  be  courteous  in  order  to  keep 
the  good-will  of  those  with  whom  the  firm  does 
business;  otherwise  trade  will  fall  off.  In  fact,  the 
spirit  of  the  correspondence  should  reveal  the  high 
qualities  of  honorable  business  men.  It  follows 
that  those  young  men  and  women  who  can  be 
trusted  to  write  good  business  letters  are  greatly 
in  demand. 

How  TO  Study  English 

The  question  "Why  study  literature,  grammar, 

spelling,    composition,    and    rhetoric?"    has    been  Mood -in 
1    •  n  1       XT  1  .         ..TT         which  to  en- 

briefly  answered.     Now  comes  the  question.     How  joy  litera- 

study  each  of  these  branches  of  English?"  The  ^^^• 
answer  to  the  question,  "How  study  English  litera- 
ture?" might  well  be  this:  Don't  study  it;  just  , 
read  and  enjoy  it.  Attitude  of  mind  is  most  im- 
portant. A  sense  of  leisure  is  needed;  a  mood  of 
enjoyment,  of  abstraction  from  other  things,  so 
that  the  mind  can  be  given  fully  to  the  reading. 
Let  the  mind  picture  the  setting  and  see  the  char- 
acters;   give  the  imagination  full  play. 

It  is  well  for  the  enthusiast  early  to  form  a  com- 
panionship with  some  one  equally  fond  of  litera-  Literary 
ture  so  that  each  may  read  aloud  to  the  other  those  ships, 
passages  that  each  finds  most  delightful.  Appre- 
ciation will  be  stimulated  and  pleasure  enhanced 
by  such  joint  voyages  of  discovery  into  the  lands  of 
literature. 

There  remains  only  to  repeat  some  of  the  points 
made  in  Part  I.    To  enjoy  the  rhythm,  emotional 


I04 


WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 


When  to 
read   aloud. 


Where  er- 
rors occur. 


Guarding 
against 
error  by 
noting 


mood,  and  rhyme  of  poetry  and  of  artistic  prose, 
read  it  aloud.  Again,  if  you  wish  the  author's 
style  and  diction  to  influence  your  own,  read  aloud. 
It  is  well  also  to  hear  a  trained  reader  whenever 
you  can.  Such  a  one  will  often  reveal  to  you  new 
beauties  and  meanings  that  you  had  never  realized 
in  your  own  reading.  In  order  to  get  a  connected 
view,  read  the  whole  play,  poem,  or  story  at  a 
single  sitting  if  you  can.  If  it  is  too  long  for  that, 
recall  before  reading  what  you  read  at  a  previous 
sitting.  Mark  the  noteworthy  passages  for  further 
reading  and  consideration. 

How  TO  Study  Spelling 

Spelling  is  to  be  acquired  almost  wholly  by  pure 
feats  of  memorizing.  Few  rules  are  helpful;  but 
these  should  at  once  be  thoroughly  learned.  In 
addition,  the  rules  for  memory  drill  are  about  all 
that  can  be  applied.  A  study  of  spelling  tests 
reveals  the  fact  that  the  greater  the  number  of 
possibilities  of  error  in  a  word  the  more  frequently 
will  the  word  be  misspelled.  These  possibilities 
of  error  arise  from  the  fact  that  in  pronunciation 
we  do  not  discriminate  between  soft  c  and  s,  nor 
between  single  and  double  letters  as  the  /'s  in  pity 
or  witty;  nor  do  we' discriminate  the  vowels  in  many 
unaccented  syllables,  as  in  evident,  where  the  t  has 
the  same  sound  as  that  of  the  e's.  There  are  also 
many  vowels  and  combinations  of  vowels  that  are 


where  errors  pronounced  alike,  as  in  the  sound  of  long  e  which 
may  occur.     ^  .  ^        ^    i  i  •  r  •  i 

occurs  m  m^et,  eat,  key,  chtei,  recetyt,  and  marme. 

The  student  will  be  helped  by  knowing  these 


ENGLISH  105 

more  frequent  vowels  and  vowel  combinations  that 

represent    identical    sounds    in    spelling.     He    will 

then  be  able  to  detect  possibilities  of  error  in  a  word, 

and   can   fortify   himself    against   them.      Besides 

the  e  sound  noted  above,  he  should  watch  for  I 

which  appears  in  hit,  hymn,  bwsy,  women,  pre'tty, 

etc.;   for  a  which  appears  in  mole,  e^ght,  straight, 

greaij  may,  etc.;   for  e  which  appears  in  met,  b«ry, 

any,  dead,  said,  Geoffrey,  etc. ;  for  e  which  occurs  in 

her,  pearl,  myrrh,   sir,  hwrt,  worse,  etc.;    for  the 

sound  of  u  in  wp,  come,  does,  blood;   the  a  and  the 

obscure  vowel  which  is  very  much  like  it  in  portable, 

credible,  collect,  agent,  etc.;    for  0  in  show,  heau, 

sew,  do«gh,  hoe,  yeoman,  etc;  for  0  in  wolf,  wo«ld, 

fwll,  and  book;    for  0  in  move,  food,  gre^,  trwce, 

etc.;    for  i  in  might,  aisle,  height,  lie,  etc.;    for  u 

in  flwte,  brwte,  crwde,  suit,  etc.  The  prin- 

We  repeat  here  a  few  of  the  most  important  rules  ^'P'^^  ^^ 
.„.,.„  memory 

for  spellmg  drill.  drill. 

1.  Use  multiple  imagery  (i.e.  pronounce  carefully,  spell 
aloud  by  syllable,  write,  and  vocalize  the  word,  observing 
the  possibilities  of  error). 

2.  Repeat  at  increasing  intervals  (i.e.  review  tomorrow, 
skip  a  day  and  review,  skip  a  week  and  review,  skip  a 
month  and  review). 

3.  Associate  the  spelling  of  as  many  words  as  possible,  as 
when  the  ie  in  believe  is  associated  with  the  ie  in  lie. 

How  TO  Study  Grammar 

The  science  of  grammar  is  sufficiently  organized 
to  admit    associating  one  fact    or    principle    with  ^^^^  "se 
another  at  every  step.     Associate  the  independent  ciple  of^" 
elements,  subject,  verb,  and  predicate  word.    Asso-  association. 


io6  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

ciate  the  dependent  elements,  both  those  that  may 
stand  alone  (as  adjective,  adverb,  and  possessive), 
and  those  that  occur  in  groups  as  phrases  (preposi- 
tional, participial,  infinitive),  and  as  clauses. 
Along  with  the  association  should  go  discrimina- 
Employ  the  ^Jqjj  ,  ^gk  yourself  such  questions  as  these :   How 

method    of        .  i  i      t,  t         •        -.       tx  •       •  ^•^ 

discrimina-    IS  an  adverb  like  an  adjectives    How  is  it  unlike 

tion  with  Qj^  adjective?  How  is  a  phrase  like  a  clause?  How 
association. 

unlike  a  clause?    How  is  a  predicate  noun  like  a 

direct  object?    How  unlike  a  direct  object?    How 

is  a  participle  like  an  infinitive?    How  unlike  an 

infinitive? 

As  fast  as  you  cover  ground  make  an  outline  or 

The  synop-  synopsis  that  associates  the  related  things  studied. 
SIS  should  be  j;  . 

employed  in  For  each  part  of  speech  or  construction  have  an  ex- 
studying  ample  to  illustrate.  To  organize  the  materials  of 
grammar.  ^  .  .it  •  n     i       i       -i 

grammar  m  your  mmd  by  grouping  all  the  details 

under  the  fewest  possible  main  heads  is  the  easiest 
way  to  remember  them.  Association  and  discrimi- 
nation by  similarities  and  contrasts  is  the  easiest 
way  to  arrive  at  clear  ideas  regarding  the  parts  of 
the  sentence. 

The  material  is  of  such  importance  that  it  war- 
rants drill  to  drive  it  home.  For  this  turn  to  page 
94  where  the  principles  of  drill  are  given  in  full. 

How  TO  Study  Rhetoric  and  Composition 

The  methods  of  study  which  have  been  applied 

Find  appli-   ^q  grammar  apply  equally  well  to  rhetoric.      Rhe- 

cations   of  P     .  „  ,.    ,       •  , 

rhetorical      tone   IS   now  generally   studied   with   composition. 

principlesin  ^  furnishes  the  theory  and  "rules  of  the  game." 
your  read-       .  „  .       .      i  r        i  •  t 

ing.  An  excellent  practice  is  that  of  endeavoring  to  dis- 


ENGLISH  107 

cover  principles  of  rhetoric  in  one's  prose  reading. 
The  practice  fixes  the  principles  more  firmly  in  the 
mind,  and  gives  them  added  significance  for  per- 
sonal use. 
In  composition  or  theme  writing  it  is  important 

to  choose  as  a  subject  that  about  which  you  know  ^'"^''^  ^^~ , 
,  .  ,    .  1  .  ,  .  .       -rr   portance  of 

somethmg    and  m   which   you  are  mterested.     If  knowledgi- 

you  know  little  or  nothing  of  the  subject  assigned,  9^  ^^^,  ^^^' 
.    ,  ,r      T  ,        .   r  .  .  ject    chosen 

mform   yourself.     Let    the    mformation    remam    a  for   compo- 

day  or  two  in  your  mind  before  writing.     In  the  sition. 

meantime   think   about   it   in   order   to   make   the 

material  your  own,  and  to  give  it  original  color 

and  interest. 

When  you  have  to  write  a  theme  on  any  subject, 

it  is  a  good  device  to  make  an  outline  in  advance.  ^^  thought 
Tf         1  .      1  1  1  ,.        on  the  sub- 

11  a  theme  is  due  on  the  morrow  make  an  outline  ject  precede 

of  it  tonight.     Write  it  out  in  full  tomorrow.     New  writing. 

thoughts,  perhaps  adding  greatly  to  the  interest, 

will  be  likely  to  come  to  you  in  the  meantime  as  a 

result  of  the  outline;    and  they  can  be  added  in 

the  final  draft. 

Few  persons  can  sit  down  and  write  with  ease 

from  the  moment  they  take  up  the  pen.     Usually  P°^  \^  set 

.    ,      -     .         .  f,  ■;,    into   the 

a  period  of  time  is  necessary     to  get  up  steam,     mood  and 

During  this  time  think  hard.     Keep  writing  though  swing   for 

r  ^  c  ,  X      ,  .  writing, 

you  erase  one  false  start  after  another.     In  this  way 

you  shut  out  all  distracting  thoughts  which  would 
occupy  your  mind  if  you  should  cease  work.  Pres- 
ently, ideas  will  flow  from  your  pen  as  fast  as  you 
can  put  them  down. 

Always  read  aloud  what  you  have  written.    Awk- 
wardness thus  becomes  apparent;    you  will  keep 


io8  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

Test  your     ^j^^  same  rhythm  and  swing,  and  your  style  will 
reading         be  more  consistent  throughout.     After  a  pause  in 
aloud  what  writing,  go  back  and  read  what  you  have  written, 
written.         in  order  to  get  into  the  swing  of  thought  and  style 
again.     Last  of  all  be  sure  that  you  have  made  the 
best  possible  use  of  your  knowledge  of  punctuation; 
check  up  the  spelling  of  doubtful  words  by  refer- 
ence to  the  dictionary. 


IV.  Why  Study  the  Modern  Languages? 

By  modern  means  of  travel,  the  barriers  of  space 

have  been  conquered.     Places  now  seem  nearer  than  ^^^    ^^'^^'^ 

^  grows 

they  did  before  we  could  journey  by  rail  or  by  steam-  smaller. 

ship;  and  the  barriers  of  distance  must  continue  to 
yield  to  improvement  in  means  of  transportation. 
The  nations  of  the  earth  are  no  longer  separated  from 
one  another  as  of  old.  These  commonplaces  are 
said  here  in  order  to  stress  the  fact  that  foreign 
peoples  are  to  be  brought  into  still  closer  and  more 
frequent  contact  with  one  another,  and  that  there 
will  be  more  need  of  the  study  of  modem  languages. 
The  necessities  of  trade  and  foreign  travel  demand 
that  foreign  tongues  be  mastered.  Moreover  such  Foreign  lan- 
4.   A        -11  •  A      ^      A'  A  '       Suages     are 

study  will  mcrease  our  understanding  and  apprecia-  useful    in 

tion   of   foreign   peoples.     Foreign   literature   may  trade  and 

become   to   us   a   source  of  light   and  inspiration,  afford  new 

What   there   is   of  really  great   English   literature  ^^^^^  ^J  ^~ 

may  be  read  in  a  few  years.     When  Shakespeare  ration. 

and  the  masters  since  his  time  have  been  exhausted, 

what  a  delight  to  be  able  to  turn  to  Goethe,  Schiller, 

Moliere,  Hugo,  and  Balzac!     No  translations  exist 

that  reflect  the  genius  of  such  masters.    To  be  fully 

appreciated  they  must  be  read  in  the  original. 

The  knowledge  of  a  European  language  is  useful 

to  leaders  in  the  professions.    If  a  man  means  to  keep  European 

fully  abreast  of  the  times  in  any  art  or  profession,  language 
.  ./  1  '    necessary 

he  will  wish  to  follow  the  German  or  French  jour-  for  leader- 

nals  of  scientific  progress.     As  for  Spanish,  Ameri-  ship  in  the 
.  ,       .  .  .  ,  .      sciences  and 

cans  will  have  a  growing  need  of  acquiring  this  professions. 


no 


WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 


order  to 
acquire  a 
language. 


language  as  they  come  into  closer  trade  relations 

with  South  American  countries. 

In  spite  of  the  real  need  for  the  study  of  foreign 

Necessity  of  languages,   many   students   are   without   sufficient 

serious  .       , 

purpose  in     purpose  m  the  work.    With  some  the  study  of  a 

foreign  language  is  a  matter  of  fashion  rather  than 
of  serious  intention.  To  say  a  few  words  in  German 
or  French  seems  to  them  a  badge  of  distinction; 
and  that  is  all  they  carry  away  after  years  spent  in 
classes  studying  these  languages.  Such  sort  of 
study  should  be  discouraged.  The  fact  is  that  it 
is  exceedingly  difficult  to  learn  to  speak  and  write 
a  foreign  language  while  resident  in  America.  One 
must  put  his  whole  heart  'into  it,  going  over  and 
over  again  the  forms,  sentences,  and  idiomatic  ex- 
pressions. By  no  means  undertake  the  task  unless 
you  fully  expect  to  make  use  of  the  language. 


How^  TO  Study  a  Foreign  Language 


Use  the  direct  method.     Read  aloud,  striving  to 
The    direct  gg^    ^-h^    thought   from   the  foreign   idiom   direct, 

method.  ^  .    ,  ,  .  ,  r    ^        ■,'^  ^  A  1 

without  the  interference  of  J^nglisn  words.  Apply 
every  day  to  pictures  and  objects  about  you  the 
new  words  acquired.  Use  the  language  in  this  way 
not  once  but  twenty  times  a  day;  use  it  as  you  walk 
to  and  from  school,  as  you  sit  at  the  table,  as  you 
talk  with  classmates,  as  you  wake  from  sleep.  On 
every  occasion  read  aloud  in  the  foreign  tongue; 
go  to  hear  plays  and  addresses  in  it;  seek  oppor- 
tunities to  speak  with  foreigners  in  their  na- 
tive   language.      Study    carefully    the    rules    for 


MATHEMATICS  iii 

memory  drill  given  under  the  study  of  Latin  and 
apply  them  here. 

V.  Why, Study  Mathematics? 

In  most  high  schools  algebra  and  geometry  are 
not  elective  but  required  subjects.  The  student,  ^'^j^^^ln 
therefore,  has  no  choice  but  to  take  them.  All  the  in  numbers, 
more,  then,  is  it  incumbent  upon  the  schools  to 
make  very  clear  the  value  of  the  work  offered  in 
these  subjects.  It  is  not  a  difficult  task  to  make 
such  a  showing,  for  number  and  quantity  relations 
necessarily  enter  into  the  everyday  thinking  of 
almost  all  men  and  women.  Quantities  of  money 
are  paid  for  quantities  of  goods  and  services:  this 
is  the  great  practical  fact  that  forces  mathematical 
thinking  upon  everyone. 

The  contractor,   engineer,  builder,  and  business 

man   think  largely  in  numbers.      Not  long  ago  I  O^cupa- 

,     ,     "    -^  .  .  ,  tions  where- 

overheard   the   conversation   of   two   men   who   sat  in  the  need 

behind  me  in  a  railway  coach;   for  two  hours  their  9^  ^"^^  ^^^^ 

,,  f  ....  .  .        ,       ,       IS  para- 

talk  was  of  quantities,  weights,  sizes,  strains,  loads,  mount. 

and  values  e.xpressed  in  numbers.  They  are  build- 
ing contractors,  to  whom  training  in  mathematics 
is  indisp>ensable.  Mathematics  is  also  essential  to 
a  proper  grasp  and  use  of  the  sciences.  It  is  the 
application  of  mathematics  to  science  that  has  given 
us  our  modem  industrial  progress.  If  you  are  to 
take  physics  and  chemistry  in  the  later  years  of 
your  course,  you  should  master  algebra  and  geome- 
try in  advance. 

"The  ultimate  needs  of  society  and  the  present 
needs   of    the    child  must  govern  the  selection  of 


112  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

A  statement  work  in  the  high  school  as  well  as  in  the  elementary 
ski.  school.     How  varied  is  the  need  of  mathematical 

reasoning  is  shown  by  the  nmnerous  developments 
along  mathematical  lines,  in  other  fields,  e.g.,  biomet- 
rics, mathematical  chemistry,  and  mathematical 
physics.  Analytical  and  graphical  treatment  of 
statistics  is  employed  by  the  economist,  the  phi- 
lanthropist, the  business  expert,  the  actuary,  and 
even  the  physician,  with  the  most  surprisingly 
valuable  results;  while  symbolic  language  involving 
mathematical  methods  has  become  a  part  of  well- 
nigh  every  large  business.  The  handling  of  pig- 
iron  does  not  seem  to  offer  any  opportunity  for 
mathematical  application.  Yet  graphical  and  ana- 
lytical treatment  of  the  data  from  long-continued 
experiments  with  this  material  at  Bethlehem, 
Pennsylvania,  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  the  law 
that  fatigue  varies  in  proportion  to  a  certain  rela- 
tion between  the  load  and  the  periods  of  rest. 
Practical  application  of  this  law  increased  the 
amount  handled  by  each  man  from  twelve  and  a 
half  to  forty-seven  tons  per  day.  Such  a  study 
would  have  been  impossible  without  preliminary 
acquaintance  with  the  simple  invariable  elements 
of  mathematics."  ^ 

How  TO  Study  Mathematics 

^^^v^^?^  Avoid  guess-work.  Leisure  is  a  prime  requisite 
nervous  '  for  the  study  of  mathematics.  Give  yourself 
haste  is  fatal  ^jj^e  to  think.  Many  of  the  failures  in  this  sub- 
work,  ject  are  du?  to  haste.  Students  are  in  too  great  a 
1  Johnston  et  at.,  High  School  Education,  p.  134. 


MATHEMATICS  1 13 

hurry  to  read  and  understand  the  problem  before 
them;  and  in  consequence  they  fail  to  grasp  all 
the  details.  They  fail  to  see  just  what  is  given  in 
the  data  and  what  is  called  for  in  the  solution. 
They  are  in  so  great  a  hurry  that  they  do  not 
think  out  how  to  apply  in  the  solution  of  today's 
problem  the  mathematical  principles  previously  ac- 
quired. 
They  rush  into  the  operation  and  trust  to  luck 

that  it  will  come  out  right:  they  do  not  take  time  ?^^^^  wojk 

,'•',.  IS     wasteful 

to  know  at  every  step  that  the  solution  must  come  of  time  and 

out  right.     Often  they  are  satisfied  if  the  result  energy. 

of  an  algebraic  solution  is  a  whole  number;    if  it  is 

a  fraction,  they  work  it  out  again  by  perhaps  an 

entirely    different    process.     The    important    thing 

is  to  proceed  slowly  and  deliberately,  letting  thought 

and  reason  outrun  the  pencil  and  direct  the  work. 

So  much  of  the  work  in  school  is  memory  work 

that  pupils  are  likely  to  endeavor  to  apply  the  same  Reason,  not 

.  -r,        •        I'l  n  memory,  is 

process  to  mathematics.     But  m  this  study  renec-  the   faculty 

tion  is  the  mental  process  most  necessary.  The  to  guide, 
method  of  trial  and  error,  used  in  much  practical 
investigation,  is  out  of  place  in  mathematics.  In 
this  subject  one  should  not  employ  the  experi- 
mental process  of  the  puzzle  or  of  the  scientific 
problem. 

In  algebra  take  time  to  think  out  an  accurate 

statement;    then  be  sure  of  your  arithmetical  pro-  ^^  ^^^  ^J 

,  .  1  ,.  .  ,         ,  .  ,.       .  your     work 

cesses  by  going  over  additions  and  multiplications  as  you  pro- 

twice  unless  you  are  thoroughly  confident  of  your  ^e^- 

accuracy.     Do  not  try  multiplication  first  and  when 

that  fails  fly  to  division,  as  I  have  known  some  poor 


114  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

students  do.    There  is  need  of  frequent  review  of 
the  cases  and  formulas  previously  learned. 
In  geometry  an  excellent  method  of  finding  out 
Be  sure  to  whether  you  have  understood  the  theorem  is  to 
understand    draw  the  figure  independently  of  the  book.    Later 
all  the  data  l■^^J^  ^o  the  figure  in  the  book  to  see  if  your  own 
ceeding  to  a  work  satisfies  equally  w^ell  the   conditions  of  the 
solution.        theorem.     Some  of  the  best  work  done  in  geometry 
is  done  by  those  classes  who  use  no  book  at  all;  and 
you  may  be  sure  that  a  large  factor  in  their  success 
comes    from    the    necessity    of    reading    carefully 
and  understanding  all  of   the  conditions    or  data 
required   for  constructing    an   independent   figure. 
The  data  thoroughly  known,  the  solution  generally 
follows. 
In  no  study  can  the  principle  of  competition  be 
Friendly        more  happily  applied  than  in  mathematics.     Each 
is  a  source  problem  has  the  fascination  of  a  puzzle.     Who  can 
of  added  in-  solve  the  greatest  number  of  them?    There  are  few 
students  who  have  not  felt  the  keen  interest  that 
such  work  excites.    He  who  has  not    has  missed 
the  most  stimulating  and  invigorating  mental  dis- 
cipline that  the  school  affords.     Surely  the  power  of 
concentration  gained  in  an  alert  class  in  mathe- 
matics carries  over  into  many  a  practical  situation 
of  after-life. 


terest. 


VI.  Why  Study  the  Sciences? 
Chemistry 

As  has  been  frequently  pointed  out,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  name  anythinsr  in  the  world  about  us  that  Umversal- 

°,  ,  ,      rr^,  ityofchem- 

chemistry  does  not  help  us  to  understand.     The  istry. 

clothes  we  wear,  the  food  we  eat,  the  iron  and  steel 

that  go  into  our  machinery  and  tools,  the  bricks 

and  mortar,  the  wood,  tile,  glass,  and  cement  of  our 

homes  —  the  composition  of  all  these  comes  under 

the  domain  of  chemistry.     The  human  body  is  a 

complex   of   chemical   phenomena.     Almost   every 

function  of  the  body  has  its  explanation  in  chemical 

process.     Chemical  processes  account  for  the  growth 

and  decay  of  all  plants  and  animals.     In  short,  the 

whole  world  of  living  things  is  dependent  for  life  on 

chemical  changes. 

Chemistry  shows  how  a  few  simple  elements  are 

put  together  to  make  up  a  world  of  different  materi-  Broadens 
,         T  1   .  ,         ,  .  ,1  the  inter- 

als.    It  explams  what  happens  m  such  changes  as  ests. 

the  burning  of  wood,  the  digestion  and  assimila- 
tion of  food,  the  growth  of  plants,  the  rusting  of 
iron,  the  rising  of  bread,  and  the  dyeing  of  cloth. 
Chemistry  broadens  the  interests  of  life  in  every 
direction. 
Metallurgy   is   a   department   of   chemistry.    A 

knowledge  of  this  subject  made  iron  and  steel  pro-  ^^  ^^  °^  '"^' 
J     x«  M  1  1,  1  1       •  r     .       mense  prac- 

duction  possible,  as  well  as  the  production  of  tm,  tical  value. 

copper,    silver,   gold,    and   zinc.     The    chemist    is 


ii6  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

necessary   in   the    production    of    dyestufifs,    soap, 

paint,  sugar,  glass,  paper,  ink,  drugs,  and  fertilizers. 

The  inspection  of  food  and  water  is  intrusted  to  the 

chemist. 

There  are  many  problems  in  chemistry  yet  to 

A  field  open  j^^  solved.     Young  men  and  women  who  come  into 

ery.  touch  with  these  problems  early  are  likely  to  keep 

on  in  the  great  work  of  scientific  discovery.     A 

number  of  years  ago  a  young  student  in  Ohio  read 

of  the  need  of  separating  aluminium  from  its  ore 

in  a  less  costly  way.     At  the  age  of  twenty-two  he 

had  solved  this  problem.     He  gave  us  the  use  of 

An  example  aluminum  ware.     At  his  death,  a  short  time  ago, 
of  this.  ,  ,  ,       ,  '       ,  .  , 

the  papers  devoted   columns  to   this  noted  man, 

Charles  Martin  Hall.  He  died  leaving  a  great  for- 
tune ;  but  the  wealth  he  acquired  was  only  a  small 
fraction  of  the  wealth  that  he  gave  the  world  in  re- 
ducing the  cost  of  aluminum  from  ninety  dollars 
a  pound  to  eighteen  cents. 

This  is  by  no  means  an  isolated  example  of  the 
Duncan's       valuable  discoveries  of  chemists.     In  the  University 
University    of  Kansas  various  manufacturers  have  given  sums 
of  Kansas.     Qf  money  to  enable  young  students  to  support  them- 
selves while   working   on   some   chemical   problem 
related  to  industry.     The  results  of  this  work  are 
gratifying  to  both  manufacturer  and  chemist. 

The  student  of  chemistry  can  hope  to  apply  his 
knowledge  in  the  home,  shop,  factory,  and  farm 
in  a  hundred  useful  ways;  and  he  can  have  the 
advantage  of  following  the  progress  of  the  world 
by  reading  with  interest  and  understanding  numer- 
ous scientific  articles  and  books. 


THE   SCIENCES  117 


Physics 

Some  years  ago  a  student  of  mine  was  obliged  to 
seek  a  change  of  climate  for  his  health.     He  went  to  Where  a 
Hawaii  and  found  work  as  a  laborer  upon  a  large  of  physics 

sugar  plantation.     Two  years  later  he  paid  a  visit  Ployed  val- 

.         .       ,       .       ,  .      ,  .  uable- 

to  America,  havmg  become  m  the  meantime  mana- 
ger of  the  plantation.  You  will  be  glad  to  read 
the  story  he  told  of  his  success. 

Soon  after  he  reached  Hawaii,  a  mill  for  crushing 
the  cane  was  erected  on  the  place.  The  erection  of 
this  machinery  proved  a  task  beyond  the  ability  of 
manager  and  foreman;  and  no  expert  machinist 
was  at  hand.  My  young  friend  had  studied  physics 
in  the  high  school,  and  his  limited  knowledge  of 
mechanics,  derived  from  that  study,  was  enough 
to  enable  him  to  understand  and  direct  the  work. 
To  the  reputation  for  ability  thus  earned  he  owed 
his  promotion  from  day  laborer  to  manager. 

Two  other  highly  successful  men  who  are  engaged 
in  electrical  manufacturing  business  have  told  the  Physics  and 
author  that  their  successful  careers  were  opened  to  tive  faculty, 
them  by  the  study  of  high  school  physics.  The 
wonderful  work  of  Edison  has  been  in  the  domains 
of  physics  and  chemistry.  The  characteristic  Ameri- 
can traits  of  inquisitiveness  and  invention  have 
splendid  opportunities  here. 

Aside  from   any  vocational   value  that  physics 
may  have,  it  is  the  key  to  the  interpretation  of  a  ^^^^    P^®" 
vast  number  of  everyday  happenings.     The  swing  which  phys- 
of  the  pendulum,   the  projection   and  fall  of  the  ^^^  explains, 
bullet,  the  rainbow's  hues,  the  flash  of  the  lightning 


ii8  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

and  the  cra$h  of  thunder,  the  steam-engine,  the 
telescope,  the  microscope,  the  telephone  and  tele- 
graph, the  phonograph,  the  wireless,  the  X-ray,  boil- 
ing water,  congealing  ice  —  manifestations  of  energy 
in  ways  too  numerous  to  mention  here  —  are  all 
beautifully  explained  in  the  laws  of  physics.  This 
study,  like  chemistry,  has  accomplished  great  things 
for  the  comfort,  health,  and  happiness  of  mankind. 

Biology 

Biology  is  the  study  of  living  things.     It  is  usually 
Botany  and  pursued  as  two  separate  subjects :  botany,  which  is 
the  study  of  plant  life,  and  zoology,  which  is  the 
study  of  animal  life.      Man  himself  is  an  animal 
and  subject  to  the  same  laws  of  life  that  govern 
other  animals. 
In  recent  years  the  study  of  botany  and  zoology 
{^^"^^sical      j^a^s  made  very  rich  returns  to  the  health,  wealth, 
helped  in       and  happiness  of  mankind.     It  has  been  found  that 
the  fight        many  diseases  are  caused  by  the  development  within 
disease.  the  system  of  minute  forms  of  parasitic  life.    A 

knowledge  of  these  has  already  gone  far  toward 
wiping  out  yellow  fever,  hookworm,  malaria,  and 
other  human  diseases.  The  practical  use  of  vac- 
cination by  Jenner  is  regarded  by  some  as  the 
greatest  contribution  to  the  welfare  of  the  race  that 
any  man  has  ever  made.  During  the  eighteenth 
century  fifty  million  Europeans  died  of  smallpox. 
Vaccination  has  put  a  stop  to  this  scourge.  Plagues 
that  frequently  attack  livestock  and  destroy  mil- 
lions of  dollars  worth  of  farm  animals  have  in  late 
years  been  checked  by  the  biologists. 


THE  SCIENCES  iig 

Pasteur,  the  eminent  French  scientist,  saved  his 
countrymen  untold  wealth  by  his  discoveries.     He  p^^.^JJ!^^  °i 
saved  cattle  and  sheep  from  a  plague  called  anthrax,  jenner  exhi- 
chickens   from   cholera,    and   human   beings   from  hits  this, 
hydrophobia.     In  the  plant  world  Pasteur  saved  the 
vines  and  wines  of  France  from  diseased  conditions 
that  threatened  ruin  to  this  great  industry. 

Just  now  a  fatal  disease,  which  attacks  the  hoofs 
and  mouths  of  cattle  threatens  to  carry  off  millions 
of  dollars  worth  of  livestock.  A  great  American 
scientist,  Dr.  Simon  Flexner,  of  the  Rockefeller 
Institute,  New  York,  has  been  called  to  the  Chicago 
stockyards  in  the  hope  that  he  may  be  able  to 
discover  the  biology  of  this  fatal  disease  and  save 
the  herds. 

Entomology  treats  of  insects.    It  is  said  that 

insects   destroy   about   a  billion   dollars   worth   of  ^  *^^  ^^^f 

-^         .  .  caused  by 

crops  every  year  in  the  United  States.     What  a  insect  pests. 

wonderful  saving  might  be  effected  if  every  farmer 
could  be  an  intelligent  observer  of  these  pests! 

Not  less  valuable  is  the  work  of  eminent  botanists. 
Every   young    student    should   be    encouraged    to  J^^  ^°""  , 
read   the   life   of  Luther   Burbank.    Through   the  of  Luther 
breeding  and  selection  of  plants,  this  one  man  has  Burbank. 
added  vastly  to  the  wealth  of  all  the  world.     He 
has  improved  old  varieties  of  fruits,  flowers,  grasses, 
trees,  and  vegetables;   has  merged  'Svild  or  degene- 
rate types  of  plant  life  with  tame  or  cultivated  ones, 
in  order  that  the  union  may  be  of  service  to  both"; 
and  has  actually  created  "new  forms  of  life,  un- 
known to  the  world  before."  ^     As  a  young  man  he 
^  Ilarwood,  Nac  Creations  in  Plant  Life,  p.  24. 


I20 


WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 


New  and 
improved 
species  of 
plants. 


The  study 
of  botany- 
should  in- 
crease the 
number  of 
Burbanks. 


created  a  new  and  improved  variety  of  potato  which 
became  known  as  the  Burbank.  It  is  said  that 
this  one  success  has  added  over  twenty  millions  of 
dollars  to  the  wealth  of  the  country. 

Here  are  some  of  the  things  that  this  wonderful 
botanist  has  done.  He  has  developed  a  thornless 
cactus  which  is  a  food  for  man  and  beast,  and  may 
be  grown  in  the  desert.  He  has  made  a  new  berry, 
called  the  primusberry,  a  union  of  the  blackberry 
and  the  raspberry.  From  the  apricot  and  the  plum 
he  has  made  a  new  fruit,  called  the  plumcot.  Other 
creations  from  the  plum  are  (i)  a  plum  with  no  pit, 

(2)  a  plum  with  the  flavor  of  a  Bartlett  pear,  and 

(3)  one  having  a  rare  fragrance.  He  has  taken  the 
bitter  taste  of  tannin  from  the  walnut  skin  that 
covers  the  meat;  has  made  a  fast-growing  tree,  a 
daisy  with  a  six-inch  blossom,  a  dahlia  with  the 
odor  of  magnolia  blossoms,  a  lily  with  the  fragrance 
of  violets,  a  chestnut  tree  that  bears  in  eighteen 
months  from  the  time  of  seed  planting,  a  delicious 
white  blackberry,  a  poppy  with  a  ten-inch  blossom, 
and  a  twelve-inch  calla.  He  has  greatly  improved 
many  species  of  fruits;  among  these  is  a  prune 
three  or  four  times  as  large  as  the  ordinary  French 
prune. 

The  work  that  Burbank  has  done,  great  as  it  is, 
is  still  only  a  beginning.  It  has  blessed  and 
enriched  mankind  immeasurably;  still  it  is  only 
pioneer  work.  When  his  example  shall  have  stimu- 
lated a  whole  generation  of  ambitious  young  bota- 
nists introduced  to  the  subject  in  our  high  schools, 
progress  in  this  field  should  be  still  more  rapid, 


Physical  Geography 

The  subject  of  physical  geography  treats  of  the 

physical   sciences  as  applied  to   the   earth.     It  is  '^^-  subject 
^  -^  ^^  matter  ot 

nature  study  with  reference  to  inanimate  nature,  physical 

Biology   treats  of   living  things  —  plants  and  ani-  geography 

mals.     Physiography  treats  of  the  forces  and  laws  interesting 

of  nature  as  applied  to  material  things,   such  as  ^"^  useful. 

soils,  rocks,  mountains,  valleys,  rivers,  lakes,  and 

seas.     It  explains  also  such  phenomena  as  winds, 

waves,  tides,  heat,  cold,  rain,  ice,  snow,  frost,  and 

dew. 

There  are  two  sides  from  which  to  view  the  value 
of  this  study  :  the  cultural  side  and  the  economic  side. 
Viewed  from  the  cultural  side  physiography  is  seen 
to  add  to  one's  capacity  for  noble  enjoyment.  From 
the  economic  side  it  is  seen  to  add  to  one's  capacity 
to  earn  a  living.  Thus  there  is  both  pleasure  and 
profit  in  the  pursuit  of  this  study. 

To  one  gifted  with  natural  curiosity  there  is  a 

wealth   of   satisfaction   in   learning   why   so   many  ^  enables 

,  °     .        .  .  .     ,    the  student 

things  about  us  are  as  they  are.     The  inquiring  mind  to   see   the 

finds  in  physiography  interesting  answers  to  a  large  significance 
^   -^       °     ^   -^  '^  .  ,  ,     of    common 

number  of  questions  concerning  the  physical  world,  things. 

The  subject  gives  interest  to  everything  about  us. 

As  fact  after  fact  is  seen  to  fall  under  one  or  another 

law,  we  no  longer  inhabit  chaos.     The  hill,  the  lake, 

the  river,  the  ravine  that  catches  our  eye  has  a  story 

to   tell.     Even  changes  of  wind  and  weather  are 

not  the  effect  of  blind  chance.     The  very  stones 

under  our  feet  become  eloquent  of  world  history. 

Here  is  a  huge  one  dropped  from  some  vast  glacier. 


122  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

Here  is  a  sharp  one  that  has  been  shattered  by  the 
power  of  frost.  Here  is  one  fused  by  volcanic  heat. 
Here  is  one  that  has  been  rolled  and  polished  by  the 
action  of  waves.  Here  is  one,  picked  up  in  northern 
Michigan,  where  long  ago  the  coral  polyps  fashioned 
'  it,  when  this  land  was  covered  with  a  summer  sea, 
stretching  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Thus  new 
beauty  and  significance  come  to  common  things  as 
we  learn  to  understand  them  in  the  light  of  this 
science.  Thought  and  conversation  are  enriched  pro- 
portionately; and  we  are  able  both  to  read  more 
understandingly  and  to  grasp  what  we  hear  when 
the  topic  touches  upon  this  science  of  physiography. 
So  much  for  the  cultural  or  pleasure-giving  side 

Industrial      Qf  t^^  study.     The  profit  side  is  just  as  apparent. 

this  science.  Training  which  makes  men  more  observant  of  their 
environment  makes  it  possible  for  them  to  take 
advantage  of  opportunities  otherwise  unseen.  All 
occupations  are  conditioned  by  physical  environ- 
ment. The  student  of  physiography,  more  than 
any  one  else,  can  tell  the  people  of  a  locality  what 
occupations  they  should  pursue.  He  knows  where 
to  go  to  get  the  best  returns  for  his  labor  in  a  par- 
ticular line.  Kjiowing  the  environmental  conditions 
of  a  given  place,  he  can  judge  how  great  a  population 
can  exist  there,  what  animals  and  plants  will  thrive, 
and  for  what  industries  the  place  is  best  suited. 

In  many  cases  physical  geography  is  given  as 
a  part  of  the  general  course  in  science  required  of 
all  students  in  the  freshman  year  of  high  school. 
From  what  has  been  said  it  can  readily  be  seen  that 
the  requirement  is  made  with  good  reason.    The 


THE  SCIENCES  123 

subject    is  evidently    of   the    first  importance  to 
every  one. 

How  TO  Study  Science 

Science  gives  an  opportunity  to  study  things  at 

first   hand  rather   than   through   the   medium   of  Ti?^    ^j^": 
11  rr^i  1      1      f   r         •  1.1         r  ^^^^  methocl 

books.    The  method  of  formmg  general  ideas  from  of  research. 

facts  gathered  from  observation  is  called  the 
scientific  method.  The  scientific  method  of  study 
can  be  employed  in  business  problems,  and  in 
any  diflicult  situation  of  life,  to  very  great  ad- 
vantage. Below  is  an  outline  showing  how  to  make 
use  of  the  scientific  method  in  finding  out  a  general 
truth. 
I.   State  carefully   the  problem   that  you  wish 

to  solve. 
n.  Consider  a  wide  variety  of  data,  and  avoid 

the  error  of    too  hasty   conclusions.    Show 

energy   and  originality  in   your   search   for 

facts  to  serve  as  data. 
in.   Observe  carefully  your  data.     Analyze  them; 

i.e.,  examine  them  part  by  part.     Look  for 

likenesses  and  unlikenesses  to  find  out  what  is 

typical  and  what  is  only  accidental. 

IV.  Guess  at  your  theory  in  the  light  of  your 
observations.  Avoid  the  error  of  not  con- 
sidering facts  that  won't  square  .with  your 
theory. 

V.  State  your  theory  carefully. 

VI.  Verify  the  theory  by  applying  it  to  further 
data. 


124 


WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 


Applying 
the    scien- 
tific 
method. 


Application  or  the  Foregoing  Outline 

I.  Statement  of  problem :  What  causes  the  dew? 

II.  Variety  of  data. 

1.  From  first-hand  observations  made  night  and  morning 
on  weather  conditions  and  dew  by  a  high  school 
student. 

a.  No  dew  after  cloudy  nights, 

h.  Dew  after  clear,  still  nights. 

c.  No  dew  after  windy  nights, 

d.  More  dew  in  valley  than  on  hilltops, 

e.  Little  dew  on  tree  tops;  much  on  grass. 

/.   Much  dew  on  ax  blade,  little  on  helve;   ax  blade 

feels  colder  than  helve. 
g.  More  dew  on  cool  nights  than  on  hot. 
h.  No  dew  on  winter  nights;   frost  in  spring  and  fall. 

2.  First-hand  observations  made  by  day  on  other  deposits 
of  moisture. 

a.  Water  pitcher  sweats  when  filled  with  cold  water; 
does  not  sweat  when  filled  with  warm. 

h.  Hatchet  blade  sweats  when  brought  from  refrigera- 
tor; not  when  brought  from  oven. 

c.  Cellar  wall  sweats  on  warm  spring  day;  feels  cold  to 
touch. 

d.  Rain  falls  when  the  wind  changes  and  a  cooler 
breeze  strikes  the  clouds. 

e.  Water  evaporates  into  the  air;  hence  there  must  be 
moisture  in  the  air. 

/.  Moisture  on  window  panes  on  cool  day,  when  house 
is  warmer  than  air  outside. 

III.  Observation  of  data. 

a.  Unfavorable  to  dew:  high  places  like  hilltops  and 
tree  tops;  wind,  warm  nights,  winter  nights,  cloudy 
nights. 

h.  Favorable  to  dew:  cool  clear  nights,  low  places,  cool 
surfaces;  summer  weather. 

c.  Favorable  to  other  deposits  of  moisture:  cold  water 
pitcher,  cold  hatchet  blade,  cold  cellar  wall,  cool 
window-panes.     Cool  breeze  (rainfall  from). 


THE  SCIENCES  125 

IV.  Theories  and  fancies. 

1.  The  dew  falls  from  the  sky  like  a  very  fine  mist. 
(Mother  says,  "  Come  in,  children;  the  dew  is  falling.") 

2.  The  dew  sweats  out  of  the  ground  as  it  does  from  a 
pitcher  of  icewater. 

3.  The  dew  comes  from  the  breath  of  men  and  of  animals 
and  from  steam  and  settles  on  things  just  as  moisture 
in  the  house  settles  on  window-panes. 

4.  Dew  is  moisture  which  the  air  gives  up  when  it  comes 
in  contact  with  a  cooler  surface. 

Now  take  up  each  of  the  theories  in  turn  and  see 
how  it  squares  with  the  data  or  facts  that  have 
been  observed  and  recorded.  The  first  theory  is 
that  the  dew  falls  from  the  sky  like  a  very  fine 
mist.  The  first  fact  observed  is  that  there  is  no  dew 
after  cloudy  nights.  A  fine  mist  is  a  fog,  which 
would  cause  the  sky  to  be  overcast.  Thus  the 
very  first  fact  is  inconsistent  with  the  theory.  The 
second  fact  also  refutes  this  theory;  for  there  is 
dew  after  clear,  still  nights.  Furthermore,  the 
theory  that  dew  falls  does  not  account  for  the  fact 
that  there  is  no  dew  on  windy  nights.  Again,  if 
dew  fell  from  the  sky,  as  much  would  fall  on  hills 
and  tree  tops  as  on  valleys  and  low  places;  as  much 
on  the  ax  helve  as  on  the  blade,  etc.  This  first  the- 
ory does  not  account  for  one  of  the  facts  given. 

The  second  theory  is  based  on  a  false  assump- 
tion; for  the  water  pitcher  does  not  gather  mois- 
ture by  sweating,  any  more  than  does  the  cool 
hatchet  blade.  Neither  the  pitcher  nor  the  hatchet 
has  a  system  of  sweat  glands.  Furthermore,  it 
does  not  account  for  any  of  the  facts. 

The  third  theory  does  not  account  for  la,  id,  i/, 
ig,  2a,  2b,  2C. 


126 


WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 


Vocational 
value  of 
skill    in 
scientific 
procedure. 


The  fourth  theory  accounts  for  practically  all  of 
the  phenomena  observed.  There  is  no  dew  after 
cloudy  nights  because  the  clouds  act  as  a  blanket  to 
prevent  the  earth's  surface  from  cooling  to  the  dew- 
point  as  it  does  on  clear  nights.  Place  your  hand 
on  the  ground  on  such  a  night  and  see  if  it  is  not 
warmer  than  on  clear  nights.  Winds  do  not  allow 
the  air  to  remain  long  enough  in  one  place  to  cool 
and  give  up  its  moisture.  The  moving  air  of  windy 
places,  as  on  hills  and  tree  tops,  acts  to  reduce  the 
amount  of  dew  deposited  there.  The  cold  ax  blade, 
water  pitcher,  cellar  walls,  and  window-panes  cause 
the  warm  air  on  them  to  give  up  its  moisture  just  as 
the  cool  earth  causes  the  dew.  The  cool  wind  on 
the  clouds  condenses  their  moisture  into  raindrops. 

V.  Therefore:  Dew  is  moisture  which  the  air  gives  up 
when  it  comes  in  contact  with  the  surface  of  something 
cooler  than  the  air. 

VI.  Verification.  —  Fill  a  polished  metal  beaker  half  full 
of  lukewarm  water.  Stir  it  with  a  thermometer,  adding  bits 
of  ice  the  while.  Notice  how  the  temperature  gradually 
drops  till  the  beaker  is  cool  enough  to  make  the  air  deposit 
moisture  on  its  polished  surface. 

Skill  in  the  use  of  the  scientific  method  will  carry 
over  to  any  commercial  or  industrial  problem. 
Even  today  progress  is  largely  dependent  upon  its 
use.  See  if  you  can  follow  the  method  as  applied 
above  and  work  out  for  yourself  this  problem:  Why 

am  I  less  successful  in than  *is  my  friend 

?    In  the  second  blank  fill  in  the  name  of 

a  student.  In  the  first  blank  fill  in  a  study  or 
accomplishment  of  any  kind;  or  use  such  a  problem 
as  that  of  unnning  friends  or  of  earning  money. 


VII.  Why  Study  Economics? 

Economics  treats  of  the  production,  distribution, 

and  consumption  of  wealth.     It  is  concerned  with  The  subject 
^  matter  con- 

man's   efforts    to   secure   a  living.     Nearly    every  cerns  man's 

human    institution   has    its  economic    side.     This  efforts  to 
is    true    of    education,    and   especially   of   govern-  ing. 
ment.     Industrial  history  receives  attention  as  the 
background  of  the  subject;   but  modem  industry 
also,  and  particularly  the  productive  efforts  of  people 
in  the   student's  own  Jocality,  come  in  for  consi- 
deration. 
These  are  some  of  the 'topics  usually  studied  in 

a  course  in  economics:   the  organization  of  labor,  ^^  ,^°y^,^  ^ 
,      ,         ,.    •  .  r    1  1  rr   '  Wide  field  of 

occupations  and  the   division  of   labor,  efficiency,  practical 

trade-unions,  the  problems  of  labor  and  capital,  com-  "tatters, 
petition,  competitive  prices,  monopoly  and  monopoly 
prices,  interest,  profits,  money  and  coinage,  bank- 
ing, tariff  and  internal  revenue,  taxes,  public  owner- 
ship or  control  of  means  of  production,  public 
utilities  such  as  railways,  gas,  water,  telephone  and 
telegraph  companies,  and  the  various  forms  of 
collective  and  individual  use  of  wealth. 
A  mere  enumeration  of  these  topics  shows  that 

economics  is  a  decidedly  live  and  important  sub-  ^^/^  ^^  ^ 

value  to  the 
ject  of  study.     These  are  matters  in  which  every  voter  and 

citizen   is   interested.     The    student   of   economics  reformer  as 

•11   1  .         1  .1,.  ,         ,       well  as  to 

will  be  not  only  a  more  mtelligent  voter,  but  he  the  man 

should  also  be  a  force  to  mold  public  opinion,  and  engaged  m 
in  industrial  and  commercial  life  he  should  be  more  living, 
capable  of  intelligent  action  and  of  Organizing  suc- 
cessful business. 


VIII.  Why  Study  Psychology? 

Psychology    is    the    science    of    mental    life.     It 

Psychology    treats  of  feelings,  sensations,   understandings,  rea- 

treatsof  the  .  ,     ,     .  .  ,     ,  ,     .  r 

mental  life,    sonmgs  and  decisions,  and  the  relation  of  mental 

processes  to  conduct.  It  investigates  memory, 
will,  attention,  interest,  suggestion,  fatigue,  habit, 
association  of  ideas,  and  all  the  phenomena  by 
which  the  world  becomes  subject  to  consciousness. 
The  physiological  parts  which  are  most  intimately 
connected  with  mental  acts  or  processes  also  re- 
ceive attention;  especially  the  brain,  nerves,  and 
the  sense  organs  of  sight,  hearing,  smell,  touch, 
and  taste. 

If  it  is  worth  while  for  men  to  study  physiology 
It  IS  as  use-  ^md  hygiene  in  order  to  understand  their  physical 
physiology,  functions  and  to  use  and  preserve  their  bodies  in  a 
state  of  efficiency,  it  is  certainly  worth  while  to 
study  psychology  in  order  to  understand  the  mind 
and  how  best  to  use  and  preserve  it  in  full  vigor 
and  usefulness.  The  principles  of  effective  study 
in  Part  I  of  this  book  are  based  upon  principles  of 
psychology. 

At   the  present   time   there  is  wide   interest  in 

rhe  subject  psychology  and  no  wide  knowledge   of  its  truths. 

is  much  dis-   ^^"^  ^"^  ,     .  .,111 

cussed    and  Hence  many  are  being  misled  by  the  pretensions 

httle  under-  Qf    pseudo-scientists    and  the   wild   utterances   of 

stood. 

charlatans.  Especially  is  this  true  in  the  half- 
explored  realms  of  subconscious  phenomena.  A 
great  deal  is  being  written  and  read  about  hypno- 
tism, suggestion,  the  power  of  mind  over  matter, 


PSYCHOLOGY  129 

clairvoyance,  etc.,  that  has  no  scientific  foundation 

in  fact. 

A  few  days  ago  a  young  man  came  to  me  with 

a  book  published  by  a  well-known  Chicago  firm.  P°^   ^^^ 

,  111.  Ignorant 

The  book  claims  to  have  passed  through  mnumer-  are  duped. 

able  editions,  and  the   author's   name  is  followed 

by  learned  titles.     The  work  is  full  of  the  wildest 

statements;   evidently  it  was  written  not  to  inform 

but  to  sell;   yet  the  dear  fellow  who  brought  it  to 

me  had  underlined  much  of  it,  committed  whole 

pages  to  memory,  and  was  making  it  a  large  part 

of  his  thinking  and  of  his  philosophy  of  life.     I 

had  him  write  to  unquestioned  scholars  —  professors 

of  psychology  at  three  universities  —  to  get  their 

opinion  of  the  author  and  the  book.     Their  replies 

were   so   unfavorable    and   so    consistent    that   he 

readily  saw  that  he  had  been  made  the  victim  of 

a   fraud.    The   study   of   psychology   would   have 

put  him  on  his  guard  in  the  beginning. 

The  serious  study  of  mental  phenomena  is  not 

without  interest  and  the  knowledge  gained  is  of  ^''fctical 
1         .  1-         .  A  1  1  •  value  of  a 

value   m   many  directions.     Among  other   things,  knowledge 

psychology  is  helping  to  an  understanding  of  de-  ^^  psychol- 

linquency  and  crime;    it  is  useful  to  the  physician 

in  the  handling  of  certain  types  of  nervous  diseases; 

to   the   clergyman  and  social  worker  in  knowing 

better  how  to   influence   the  minds   and   conduct 

of  others;  and  even  to  the  business  man  in  writing 

his  advertisements  and  in  selling  his  goods. 


IX.   Why  Study  Drawing? 

There  are  certain  studies  the  subject-matter  and 

Not  all  high  value  of  which  are  so  well  known  that  it  seems 
school   sub-  1,  .  ,         , 

jectsneed      scarcely  necessary  to  call  attention  to  them  here. 

elucidation.  Physiology  and  hygiene  are  examples.  These  sub- 
jects are  taught  in  the  grades  and  continued  in 
the  high  school  in  an  advanced  form,  usually  with 
more  detail  and  with  more  emphasis  upon  the 
experimental  side. 

Free-hand  drawing  and  art  are  also  subjects 
continued  from  earlier  grades.  Their  great  culture 
value  in  increasing  the  powers  of  observation  and 
in  stimulating  taste  and  appreciation  for  the  beauti- 
ful, should  be  pointed  out  long  before  the  high 
school  is  entered. 

Perhaps  this  is  the  place  to  call  attention  to  the 

The  yoca-     vocational  value  of   drawing  and   art.     One   does 
tional  value  .       .  ,  ,  - 

of  drawing    not  have  to  be  an  artist  in  order  to  make  use  of 

and  art  in  these  studies.     Every  useful  object  of  merchandise 

giving  value 

to  industrial  will  find  a  more  ready  sale  and  will  sell  at  a  higher 

products.  price  if  it  has  been  fashioned  in  lines  of  beauty  and 
embellished  with  attractive  coloring.  Pieces  of 
furniture,  rugs,  carpets,  dresses,  hats,  every  article 
of  apparel,  also  houses,  wagons,  and  automobiles, 
all  receive  added  value  from  symmetry  and  grace. 
Even  plows,  hoes,  and  steam  engines,  articles  which 
are  bought  primarily  for  use,  will  give  more  satis- 
faction if  they  also  please  the  eye.  The  producer 
in  any  line  can  win  larger  returns  if  he  has  cultivated 


DRAWING  131 

his  sense  of  the  beautiful.     It  is  of  decided  advan- 
tage if  to  good  taste  there  is  added  skill  with  brush 
and  pencil  so  that  the  desired  effect  can  be  pictured 
in  advance  of  production. 
Invention  is  greatly  aided  by  skill  in  freehand 

drawins;.    The  order  of  procedure  is  this:   first  the  How  draw- 
,  1      <•      1       1     1        •  1  ,      ing    fosters 

idea;    then  the  freehand  drawing,  next  the  work-  invention. 

ing  drawing,  next  the  pattern  in  wood,  and  finally 

the  completed  article. 

Mechanical  drawing  is  a  most  useful  art.      It  is 

indispensable   in   the  building   and  manufacturing  Mechanical 

ITT  r  1  1         r  drawing    as 

trades.     Very  often  men  are  advanced  to  foreman-  an  aid  in  in- 

ships   and  other  positions  of  responsibility  solely  d^stry. 
because   they  can  read  and   understand  working 
drawings.      Ability  to  make  such  drawings   often 
enables  one  to  improve  processes  of  manufacture 
and  to  give  greater  value  to  the  product. 

Drafting  is  an  occupation  that  calls  for  a  con- 
siderable   number    of    men    expert    in    mechanical  Mechanical 
,        .  ,_  ...  .        drawing    as 

drawing.     Young  men  often  enter  this  occupation  a  vocation. 

from  high  school  and  college  courses.  From  it  the 
ablest  of  them  rise  to  become  architects,  builders, 
or  manufacturers. 


X.  Vocational  Studies 

Stenography 

Commercial  work  in  the  high  school  leads  di- 

A  good         rectly  to  many  business  openings,  and  afterward  into 

stone  to  pre-  avenues  of  promotion.     Young  men  often  feel  that 

ferment.        stenography  is   the  province  of  women.     On   the 

contrary,  no  work  affords  a  better  opportunity  to 

rise  to  managerial  positions.    Not  long  ago  four 

men  filling  high  places  in  railroad  service  sat  down 

to  dinner  together  at  the  Traffic  Club  in  Chicago. 

In  the  course  of  the  conversation  it  was  revealed 

that  each  of  the  four  had  begun  his  career  as  a 

stenographer. 

The  capable  young  stenographer  becomes  pres- 

The  private  ently  a  private  secretary  to  an  official.     He  learns 
secretsiry. 

here  the  duties  of  that  ofiicial.     Intimate  relations 

with  a  strong  superior  will  give  him  not  only  excel- 
lent training,  but  also  opportunity  to  show  his  own 
worth  and  to  win  the  confidence  of  one  in  whose 
power  it  generally  lies  to  recommend  or  promote 
to  positions  of  responsibility. 

What  is  true  in  this  respect  of  railroading  is 
also  true  of  other  business.  The  wider  the  train- 
ing and  education  that  a  secretary  has,  the  more 
valuable  his  services.  A  good  technical  education, 
coupled  with  literary  skill,  is  especially  valuable 
in  the  offices  of  industrial  corporations.  A  knowl- 
edge of  business  law,  commercial  geography,  book- 
keeping, and  commercial  arithmetic  are  valuable  in 
every  office. 


VOCATIONAL  STUDIES  133 

Many  people  are  misinformed  as  to  the  amount 

of   education    needed    by    stenographers.    Largely  ^^^^^  °^  ^ 
•ui      r        .1.-  J-.-  ^u  u  \i   goodgeneral 

responsible  for   this    condition    are    the    so-called  education 

busiftess  colleges  with  their  six-months'  courses  to  for  stenog- 

,.11  111  raphers. 

which    they    attract    grammar    school    graduates. 

The  young  stenographer  who  cannot  understand  the 
matter  she  is  taking  from  dictation  will  not  be 
able  to  read  her  notes  when  they  become  cold;  much 
less  will  she  be  able  to  paragraph,  punctuate,  and 
spell  them  correctly.  Such  a  one  must  in  these 
days  of  competition  expect  in  most  instances  to  be 
dismissed  from  one  position  after  another,  until, 
perchance,  she  has  picked  up  enough  general  infor- 
mation and  enough  English  to  earn  fifty  dollars  a 
month  and  satisfy  her  employer.  On  the  other 
hand,  women  of  education  and  ability  are  found  who 
have  been  promoted  to  positions  as  private  secre- 
taries at  salaries  as  high  as  three  and  four  thousand 
a  year. 

Bookkeeping 

Bookkeeping  is  also  a  good  opening  for  young 

men   desiring   to  enter  commercial  lines.     To  the  Possibilities 

.        -  ,  .    ,       .  .  .       of  promo- 

possessor  of   real  mathematical   talent,   organizing  tion  for 

ability,  and  experience,  there  are  open  such  posi-  book- 
tions  as  those  of  head  bookkeeper,  auditor,  and  comp- 
troller of  great  business  enterprises.  Certified  public 
accountants  are  expert  bookkeepers  who  have 
passed  certain  state  examinations.  Many  of  them 
go  into  business  for  themselves,  and  are  employed 
by  public  and  private  corporations  to  examine 
their  books  of  accounts  and  make  a  report  to  the 


134  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

public  or  to  the  stockholders  on  their  accuracy 

and  on  the  financial  state  of  the  corporation. 

Men  who  remain  in  the  subordinate  position  of 

Disadvan-      ^  bookkeeper  soon  reach  the  limit  of  their  earning 

tages.  .        ^  ° 

capacity  at  a  salary  of  from  fifteen  to  twenty  dollars 

a  week.  They  do  not  meet  the  public,  do  not 
direct  the  work  of  others,  or  assume  large  responsi- 
bility. In  consequence,  if  they  remain  too  long  at 
the  bookkeeping  desk  they  are  likely  to  be  incapaci- 
tated for  positions  which  involve  broader  duties  and 
greater  responsibilities.  Yet  many  managers  and 
employers  have  been  developed  from  alert  young 
bookkeepers  who  have  learned  much  about  the 
details  of  business.  In  large  banks  and  ofiices,  where 
there  is  a  minute  division  of  labor,  a  bookkeeper 
will  learn  less  than  in  smaller  offices  unless  he 
manages  to  be  transferred  from  one  desk  and  one 
set  of  books  to  another.  The  expert  who  becomes 
an  auditor,  public  accountant,  comptroller,  or  the 
like,  can  rise  to  a  salary  of  three  to  five  thousand 
dollars  a  year,  and  in  some  cases  to  even  more. 

Salesmanship 

The  work  of  a  salesman  is  usually  more  highly 
Why  the  pg^j^j  than  that  of  other  employees  such  as  clerks 
highly  paid,  and  bookkeepers.  The  life  of  the  business  is  im- 
mediately dependent  upon  the  sale  of  goods.  The 
traveling  salesman  who  can  go  out  and  get  busi- 
ness, and  thus  enlarge  the  profits  of  the  concern 
for  which  he  sells,  is  in  a  position  to  demand  a  good 
salary.  The  salesman  behind  a  counter,  to  whom 
customers  come,  will  earn  less  than  the  traveling 


VOCATIONAL  STUDIES  135 

salesman;  but  success  even  here  is  rewarded  by 
increased  pay.  The  clerk  or  bookkeeper  who  looks 
after  routine  duties  which  are  fixed  and  easily 
within  the  capacity  of  average  men,  has  little  chance 
to  display  energy  and  ability,  and  to  increase  his 
earnings.  The  salesman  is  not  so  confined;  the 
more  he  can  sell  the  more  he  can  earn. 

Salesmanship  is  an  art  which  may  be  learned  as 
well  as  a  gift  which  is  inborn.  Success  will  depend  Traits  of  a 
in  part  upon  one's  knowledge  of  human  nature,  man. 
and  upon  one's  knowledge  of  the  goods  he  is  selling 
and  of  competing  goods.  But  in  large  measure 
qualities  of  character  will  determine  one's  earning 
capacity  as  a  salesman.  In  the  first  place  the  ability 
to  meet  and  deal  with  men  is  all-important.  Boys 
who  are  poor  students  because  they  like  people  more 
than  they  like  books,  and  prefer  always  to  be  in 
the  company  of  others  rather  than  alone  with  their 
studies,  may  make  excellent  salesmen.  They  are 
popular  in  school;  they  make  friends  easily;  they 
are  never  embarrassed  in  conversation;  and  they 
quickly  win  the  confidence  of  others.  Above  all, 
the  salesman  must  win  confidence.  If  he  is  honest 
and  upright,  his  personality  will  indicate  honesty 
and  uprightness  and  will  inspire  confidence.  If 
he  likes  other  people,  others  will  like  and  trust  him. 
Intelligence  and  good  sense  are  of  course  elements 
of  success  in  the  work  of  a  salesman  as  in  everything 
else. 

College   men   are  going   into   salesmanship   with 

marked  success.     The  wide  and  intimate  knowledge  College  men 
e  .      ,  .         ,,  ,,,.,.  as  salesmen, 

of  men,  gamed  m  college,  and  the  ability  to  meet 


136  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

strangers  and  to  make  friends  are  decidedly  valu- 
able. Poise,  self-confidence,  and  distinction  of 
manner  are  not  the  only  advantages  gained  in 
college;  education  gives  a  many-sided  interest 
and  knowledge  of  things,  and  opens  many  avenues 
of  appi*oach  in  meeting  customers  and  varied  topics 
of  conversation  in  winning  them. 

Scientific  Farming 

The  sciences  afford  an  excellent  preparation  for 

Who  should  agriculture.      Botany,  zoology   (including  entomol- 

farmingasa  ogy),  physical   geography,   chemistry,   and  physics 

vocation.       ^  hQdiX  more  or  less  directly  upon  the  science  of 

agriculture.     The  student  who  is  fond  of  botany 

and  zoology,  who  loves  nature  and  is  happy  to  find 

himself   alone   with   growing  plants   and   animals, 

will  surely  enjoy  this  vocation  and  succeed  in  it. 

Education  certainly  pays  as  a  farmer's  investment. 

Value  of        An  agricultural  survey  of  Tompkins  County,  New 
education  to  ,^     ,  *  ,  ,         ^     ^  .     \  111-1 

the  farmer.     York,  shows  that  farmers  who  have  attended  high 

school  are  making  more  than  twice  as  much  money 

returns  on  their  labor  as  is  made  by  those  who 

have  merely  attended  a  grade  school.     It  would  be 

interesting  to  compare  the  financial  returns  of  those 

scientifically  trained  with  the  returns  of  those  high 

school  men  who  have  had  no  scientific  training. 

Every  farm  is  a  laboratory  for  scientific  experiment. 

Problems    of    soil    conditions    and    the    crop    best 

adapted  to  these  conditions,  of  the  most  suitable 

fertilizers,  of  the  best  preparation  of  the  soil,  of  the 

most  economical  methods  of  feeding  stock,  of  the 

choice  of  what  stock  to  sell  and  what  to  keep  and 


VOCATIONAL  STUDIES  137 

breed,  of  the  care  of  trees  and  the  shipping  of 
fruit  —  all  these  problems  call  for  intelligence  and 
scientific  management  of  a  high  order. 

I  know  of  a  Michigan  farmer  with  a  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  whose  profits  average  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  a  year.  His  knowledge  of  fruit, 
soil,  and  fertilizers  is  remarkable.  Near  by  are 
other  farmers  with  inferior  equipment  who  drudge 
for  a  scant  living  on  farms  of  equal  size. 

In  many  high  schools  it  is  possible  to  take  a 

course  in  agriculture.    A  young  man  from  the  town  ^^^  school 

.^         u  ^jj^  univer- 

should  follow  up  this  course  with  a  summer  vaca-  sity  courses 

tion  at  work  on  a  farm,  and  thus  test  his  adapta-  ^^  agricul- 

^         ture. 
bility    for   this   sort   of   work.     A   college  course 

in  some  school  of  agriculture  pays  large  returns  to 

the    practical    farmer.     Certain    lighter    branches 

of  farming,  such  as  poultry  raising,  dairying,  the 

keeping  of  bees,   and  the  raising  of  flowers  and 

garden  vegetables  are  as  well  suited  to  women  as  to 

men. 

Domestic  Art  and  Science 

Dressmaking,  millinery,  and  laundry  work  are 
vocational  fields  of  wide  scope,  in  which  a  capable 
student  can  hope  easily  to  pass  from  employee  to 
employer.  Tailoring  and  textile  study  for  men 
should  have  a  place  in  the  same  department. 

Cooking  offers  another  wide  field;  and  there  is 
no  reason  why  both  young  men  and  women,  trained 
in  our  high  schools,  should  not  enter  the  profitable 
field  which  the  skilful  preparation  and  serving  of 
foods  opens  to  them  in  all  populous  centers.     Of 


138  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

course  service  under  the  direction  of  others  should 
precede  independent  business  careers.  Lack  of 
capital  should  not  deter  the  student.  A  man  of 
high  position  in  financial  affairs  once  said  to  the 
writer,  ''It  is  ridiculously  easy  for  a  young  man 
with  a  good  reputation  to  borrow  the  capital  with 
which  to  start  in  any  business  which  he  knows  and 
knows  to  be  fairly  profitable." 

Manual  Training 

Manual  training  opens  a  wide  field  to  young 
men  who  show  natural  aptitude  in  mechanical  lines. 
For  the  engineering  professions  a  college  training  is 
required,  or  is  at  least  highly  desirable. 

The  Professional  Engineers 

The  profession  of  engineering  includes  many 
special  departments: 

(i)  The  civil  engineer,  who  designs  and  builds 
stable  structures  such  as  bridges,  embankments, 
walls,  buildings,  or  attends  to  the  surveying  of 
land  and  railroads,  and  to  the  maintenance  of 
railways. 

(2)  The  mechanical  engineer,  who  designs,  builds, 
and  sells  engines  and  machines. 

(3)  The  electrical  engineer,  who  designs,  builds, 
tests,  and  operates  electrical  machinery  and  elec- 
trical plants.  •  "^  ^  ' 

(4)  The  hydraulic  engmeer,  who  designs,  con- 
structs, and  operates  water-works  for  towns  and 
cities;    canals,  reservoirs,  and  dams  for  irrigation; 


XOCATIONAL   STUDIES  139 

canals    and    ditches    for   drainage;    and   improve- 
ments in  rivers  and  harbors. 

(3)  The  sanitary  engineer,  who  is  employed  by 
cities  to  design  and  construct  sewer  systems  and 
plants  for  the  purification  of  sewage. 

(6)  The  municipal  engineer,  who  is  charged  with 
the  designing,  constructing  and  upkeep  of  streets, 
of  municipal  water-works,  and  of  sewer  systems, 
getting  advice  from  the  sanitary  and  hydraulic 
engineers. 

(7)  The  mining  engineer. 

All  the  technical  knowledge  a  man  can  get  in  a 

four,  five,  or  six  years'  course  after  high  school  is  Require- 

.         '  .  .         .  ^r        1        1  ments  of  a 

required  for  success  in  engineering.     Yet  the  char-  good  engi- 

acter  requirement  is  after  all  the  most  fundamental.  ^^^'*- 

Without  this  a  man  must  fail  in  engineering  as  in 

all  other  professions.    Here  are  the  specifications  for 

a  good  engineer,  found  in  Chief  Engineer  Sterling's 

Report  to  the  Mississippi  Levee  Commissioners: 

"A  good  engineer  must  be  of  inflexible  integrity, 

sober,  truthful,  accurate,  resolute,  discreet,  of  cool 

and  sound  judgment,  must  have  command  of  his 

temper,    must   have   courage    to   resist   and   repel 

attempts  at  intimidation,  a  firmness  that  is  proof 

against  solicitation,  flattery,  or  improper  bias  of  any 

kind,  must  take  an  interest  in  his  work,  must  be 

energetic,  quick  to  decide,  prompt  to  act,  must  be 

fair  and  impartial  as  a  judge  on  the  bench,  must 

have  experience  in  his  work  and  dealing  with  men, 

which  implies  some  maturity  of  years,  must  have 

business  habits  and  knowledge  of  accounts."^ 

^  McCullough,  Engineering  as  a  Vocation. 


I40  WHAT  TO   STUDY  AND   HOW 

The  position  of  stationary  engineer  is  one  calling 
for  a  responsible  man  with  comparatively  little 
expert  knowledge  and  skill.  The  work  is  quite 
easily  learned  and  the  stationary  engineer  is  usually 
paid  twice  as  much  as  the  average  clerk. 


Engineering  and  Building  Trades 

The  engineering  trades  include  those  of  ma- 
chinists, mill-wrights,  draftsmen,  blacksmiths,  foun- 
dry workers,  and  pattern-makers.  These  are  all 
skilled  laborers  who  have  usually  served  appren- 
ticeship and  are  paid  from  three  to  five  dollars  a  day. 

The  building  trades  include  those  of  the  carpenter, 
mason,  plasterer,  plmnber,  electrician,  structural 
ironworker,  steam-fitter,  gas-fitter,  lather,  mill-man, 
sheet-metal  worker,  cabinet-maker,  glazier,  cement 
worker,  painter,  and  decorator. 

In  the  engineering  trades  there  is  possibility  of 

How  men  in  rising  to  fortune  by  a  successful  invention,  protected 
these  trades  °  ■,  r  i  iri 

sometimes     by  patent;  or  by  passmg  from  the  ranks  of  employee 

rise  to  great  ^q  employer,  often  through  the  positions  of  foreman 
and  superintendent.  The  general  superintendent 
of  a  great  plant  is  usually  a  very  highly  paid  man; 
and  he  may  be  given  a  share  in  the  profits.  In 
the  building  trades  there  is  always  the  possi- 
bility of  promotion  to  foreman  or  superintendent; 
and  from  these  managerial  positions  men  of  initia- 
tive meet  with  little  difficulty  in  going  into  business 
for  themselves  as  building  contractors. 

In  addition  to  those  already  enumerated,  there 
are  several  other  lines  which  a  young  man  of  me- 


\'OCATlONAL   STUDIES  141 

chanical  tastes  may  pursue  —  such  as  general  con- 
tracting, excavating,  road-making,  and  lumbering. 

In  these  and  all  other  occupations  which  a  youth  ^g"jf^[,*gfore^ 
considers  entering,  there  are  certain  questions  which  choosing  a 
ought  to  be  answered  before  choice  is  made:  ^^^^^• 

1.  What  qualities  are  necessary  for  success? 

2.  Have  I  these  qualities? 

3.  What  education  or  special  training  should  I 
have? 

4.  What  opportunities  does  the  occupation  afford 
to  serve  others  or  to  benefit  society? 

5.  What  opportunities  are  there  for  advance- 
ment to  more  responsible  and  more  highly  paid 
work? 

6.  Am  I  building  the  character  that  can  be  en- 
trusted with  this  responsibility? 

7.  What  is  the  extent  of  the  field  of  employment? 
What  demand  for  the  goods  or  services? 

Are  there  many  idle  men  in  the  given  occu- 
pation? 

Are  there  civil  service  as  well  as  competitive 
openings? 

8.  What  is  the  healthfulness  of  the  employment? 
Is  there  danger  of  occupational  disease? 
Have  I  the  strength  and  health  for  this  work? 

9.  What  location  is  most  desirable? 

Am  I  willing  to  live  in  the  necessary  location? 
10.  What  trade-union  regulations  must  be  met? 


XI.  The  Older  Professions 

The  Physician 

The  sciences,  particularly  physiology  and  zoology, 

How  to        gjyg  ^^  excellent  approach  to  the  study  and  practice 

whether        of  medicine.     A  good  high  school  course  in  these 

you  have  a    branches  should  make  it  possible  for  a  student  to 

taste  for  the  i       .      ,.,    , 

medical         discover  whether  or  not  he   is  likely   to  become 

profession,      interested  in  this  profession.     If  these  subjects  do 

not  appeal  to  him,  probably  medicine  and  surgery 

will  not  appeal  to  him. 

Some  time  ago  I  sent  a  number  of  question  blanks 

vyhatphysi-  ^q  physicians  in  order  to  get  information  concern- 

cians  say  of    .      ^  /  .  .  ^         ,      , 

their  prof es-  mg  their  profession.     For  the  benefit  of  those  who 

s^°^-  may  be  considering  medicine  as  a  vocation  I  print 

one  of  these  blanks  with  answers,  filled  in  by  two 

physicians.    Their  answers  are  numbered  i  and  2 

respectively  in  reply  to  each  question.    Number 

I  is  a  successful  family  physician  in  a  town  of  6,000 

inhabitants.     Number   2   is   an   eminent  physician 

and  surgeon  with  a  national  reputation. 

I.   Is  the  profession  of  medicine  overcrowded? 

1.  Statistics  show  that  5,000  physicians  graduate  annually 
in  the  U.  S.  where  2,000  are  required. 

2.  No, 

Is  it  likely  to. be  in  the  near  future? 

1.  Yes.» 

2.  Not  likely  to  be  in  the  upper  stories  for  many  years. 

*  Others  say  that  higher  educational  requirements  are 
reducing  the  number  of  physicians,  and  assuring  a  better 
future  for  the  profession. 


THE  OLDER   PROFESSIONS  143 

2.  Are  there  too  many  specialists? 

1.  In  general,  yes;  of  good  ones,  no. 

2.  Yes.  In  leaving  college  they  should  first  have  a  general 
training. 

3.  What  qualities  are  preeminent  in  those  phy- 
sicians who  meet  the  greatest  success? 

1.  Intellectual  ability.  A  pleasant,  wholesome  personality. 
Self-confidence,  energy,  a  studious  nature,  and,  above  all, 
good  sense  and  a  sympathetic  nature. 

2.  Inexhaustible  energy,  indefatigable  zeal,  sterling  integ- 
rity and  fidelity  to  purpose. 

4.  What  is  the  cause  of  failure? 

1.  Deficient  intellect,  lack  of  preparation,  and  lack  of  study 
cause  failure  in  a  strict  professional  sense.  Ignorance, 
and  a  displeasing  personality  which  does  not  convey 
confidence,  cause  practical  failure. 

2.  Indolence;  incapacity  for  grasping  such  a  broad  and  deep 
subject;  generosity  in  the  waste  of  time,  and  procrasti- 
nation. 

5.  What  do  you  estimate   the  average  family 
physician's  income  to  be? 

1.  $700.00. 

2.  About  $1,500.00  per  year. 

6.  Is  the  income  of  the  specialist  usually  better? 

1.  As  a  rule,  yes. 

2.  Yes. 

7.  What  is  the  largest  income  you  know  of   in 
either  medicine  or  surgery? 

1.  In  Chicago  and  other  large  cities  about  $100,000.00; 
there  are  some  larger. 

2.  $13,000.00  a  month.     ($156,000.00  a  year.) 

8.  How  long  does  it  ordinarily  take  a  physician 
to  establish  a  practice? 


144  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

1.  This  cannot  be  answered.  Some  win  success  immedi- 
ately; others  never;  all  depends  on  location,  competi- 
tion, and  individual  ability. 

2.  Seven  years. 

9.  Does  a  more  paying  practice  usually  follow 
greater  experience  or  is  a  limit  reached  after  a  few 
years? 

1.  Should  increase  up  to  60  or  65  years  of  age,  in  fact  as 
long  as  a  man  keeps  pace  with  the  advance  of  medical 
science. 

2.  Greater  experience,  with  continued  study  and  applica- 
tion. 

10.  Is  a  college  course  before  the  professional 
school  financially  profitable? 

1.  Absolutely  essential;  entrance  requirements  to  all  well 
recognized  medical  colleges  practically  demand  it, 

2.  Yes  and  No.  First,  a  man  who  is  taught  to  think  profits 
by  a  college  education.  Second,  a  mere  bookworm  is 
injured  by  a  college  education. 

11.  How  many  years  of  professional  training 
should  a  physician  have? 

1.  Five  years  in  medical  college,  and  if  possible  three  in  a 
hospital. 

2.  A  four-year  course  in  college  and  two  years  in  hospital. 

12.  What  location  offers  the  best  field,  country, 
city,  or  small  town? 

I.  All  depends  on  the  individual,  whether  he  is  by  nature 
and  cultivation  suited  (from  a  social  standard)  to  Uve 
and  work  among  the  more  polished  classes  or  whether 
his  nature  and  talents  adapt  him  better  to  more  rugged 
work  among  rural  classes.  In  general  the  medical  pro- 
fession Hke  all  others  is  overcrowded  with  men  who  are 
practical  failures.  There  is  always  room  for  the  progres- 
sive man  of  energy  and  ability.  I  believe  the  medical 
profession  offers  good  opportunity  to  the  latter  class. 


THE  OLDER   PROFESSIONS  145 

2.  That  depends  on  the  man  very  much,  but  good  qualifica- 
tions \nn  in  every  field.  In  the  cities  the  average  is 
generally  estimated  at  from  $1000  to  $1200. 


The  Dentist 

Dentistry  is  a  profession  related  to  medicine  and 
surgery.  To  interest  in  physiology  the  student  The  dentist, 
should  combine  some  mechanical  skill.  Below  is 
given  a  tjpical  answer  received  from  an  inquiry 
sent  to  dentists.  Evidently  this  useful  profession 
is  in  no  danger  of  immediate  overcrowding. 

1.  Is  the  profession  of  dentistry  overcrowded? 
No. 

Is  it  likely  to  be  in  the  near  future? 
I  think  not.     The  demand  for  dentistry  is  increasing  with 
education  as  to  the  evil  effects  of  bad  teeth.     The  supply  of 
dentists  is  diminishing  with  higher  standards  as  to  educational 
requirements. 

2.  What  qualities  are  preeminent  in  those  dentists 
who  meet  with  the  greatest  success? 

Good  character;  pleasing,  attractive  personality;  ability  to 
meet  and  deal  with  people;  conscientious  effort  to  do  one's 
best. 

3.  What  is  the  cause  of  failure? 

Poor  work  largely.  Negligence,  lack  of  skill,  lack  of  effort, 
poor  personality. 

4.  What  do  you  estimate  the  average  dentist's 
income  to  be? 

$1500  to  $2000. 

5.  What  is  the  largest  income  you  know  of? 

$20,000  in  large  cities. 


146  WHAT  TO   STUDY  AND   HOW 

6.  How  long  does  it  ordinarily  take  a  dentist  to 
establish  a  practice? 

One  to  three  years. 

7.  Does  a  more  paying  practice  usually  follow 
greater  experience  or  is  a  limit  reached  after  a  few 
years? 

Usually  increases. 

8.  Is  a  college  course  before  the  professional 
school  financially  profitable? 

Yes. 

9.  How  many  years  of  professional  training 
should  a  dentist  have? 

Three. 

10.  What  location  offers  the  best  field,  country, 
city,  or  small  town? 

The  best  field  in  which  to  begin  practice  is  probably  a  place 
of  about  10,000  inhabitants;  the  large  city  affords  opportunity 
for  the  best  talents  to  secure  fees  proportioned  to  abihty. 

11.  Remarks.  —  In  the  cities  speciaHsts  doing 
only  one  branch  of  dentistry  are  found. 

The  Pharmacist 

Chemistry  in  the  high  school  offers  an  excellent 

The  phar-   "trvout"  for  the  would-be  pharmacist.     Many  high 
macist.  ,  -^  ,  ,  ,  ^  .        .1  . 

school  students  who  expect  to  enter  this  occupa- 
tion manage  to  find  work  in  drug  stores  on  Saturdays 
and  during  vacations  and  even  after  school  hours 
when  school  is  in  session.  Below  is  a  typical  reply 
to  questions  asked  concerning  this  occupation. 
I.  Is  the  profession  of  pharmacy  overcrowded? 
Not  with  efficient  men. 


THE   OLDER   PROFESSIONS  147 

Is  it  likely  to  be  in  the  near  future? 

No.  As  educational  requirements  are  raised  the  oppor- 
tunity will  be  greater. 

2.  What  qualities  are  preeminent  in  those  phar- 
macists who  meet  with  the  greatest  success? 

Thoroughly  qualified  either  by  experience  or  a  course  in  a 
r .liable  College  of  Pharmacy.  Must  have  knowledge  of  busi- 
ness and  ability  to  handle  people. 

3.  What  is  the  cause  of  failure? 

Lack  of  the  above,  and  causes  that  would  apply  in  all  busi- 
nesses and  professions. 

4.  What  do  you  estimate  the  average  pharmacist's 
income  to  be? 

$18  to  $35  per  week. 

5.  What  is  the  largest  income  of  which  you  know 
in  pharmacy? 

$20,000  per  year. 

6.  Should  the  young  pharmacist  look  forward  to 
becoming  proprietor  of  a  drug  store? 

I  should  advise  a  young  man  never  to  enter  pharmacy, 
unless  his  aim  is  some  day  to  have  a  store  of  his  own. 

7.  Are  thpre  too  many  drug  stores? 
No;  except,  perhaps,  in  certain  localities. 

8.  What  location  offers  the  best  field  for  a  drug- 
gist to-day?     City  or  country  town? 

Medium  size  country  towns  without  too  much  competition 
and  new  sections  of  large  cities  are  usually  the  best  places  for  a 
young  man  to  start. 


148  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

The   Lawyer 
History,  Latin,  and  English  are  the  important 

The  law  as  subjects  which  may  be  said  to  give  pre-vocational 
a  profession.  .    .  -^  o         r- 

trammg  to  the  lawyer;    yet  indeed  every  subject 

.  is  useful  to  him,  including  mathematics,  the  sci- 
ences, and  even  commercial  branches  and  manual 
training.  Law  cases  involve  subject-matter  of  the 
greatest  variety;  and  the  lawyer  can  scarcely  cover 
too  wide  a  course  in  his  preparation.  Some  of  the 
most  successful  lawyers  never  appear  in  court  and 
are  seldom  called  on  to  speak  in  public;  yet  the  good 
public  speaker  will  have  an  opportunity  to  become 
known,  and  popularity  is  of  great  advantage  in 
building  up  a  practice.  Below  are  given  two  replies 
to  questions  sent  to  lawyers.  The  two  law^'-ers 
answering  are  numbered  i  and  2,  respectively,  after 
each  question. 

I.   Is  the  profession  of  law  overcrowded? 

1.  Yes    (with  those  naturally  unfitted,  or  untrained,  or 
unequipped) . 

2.  Not  with  men  of  even  fair  ability. 

Is  it  likely  to  be  overcrowded  in  the  near 
future? 

1.  Yes. 

2.  Not  with  men  of  even  fair  ability. 

2.   Are  there  many  men  with  legal  training  who 
do  not  practice  law? 

1.  Yes. 

2.  No. 

If  so,  why? 

1.  Other  vocations  offer  larger  emoluments,  present  com- 
petence, health. 

2.  (No  answer). 


THE  OLDER   PROFESSIONS  149 

3.  Is  the  study  of  law  a  good  preparation  for 
business  life? 

1.  Yes} 

2.  No. 

4.  What  qualities  are  preeminent  in  those  who 
meet  with  the  greatest  success? 

1.  Natural  gifts,  perseverance,  force,  integrity,  industrj^, 
courage,  accuracy,  exactness,  precision,  sound  judgment, 

2.  Organizing  and  executive  power,  coupled  with  social 
presence  and  success  for  the  adviser  of  business  interests. 
Analytical  powers,  and  a  fine  voice  and  presence  in  the  handling 
of  litigated  problems  in  the  courts. 

5.  What  is  the  cause  of  failure? 

1.  Natural  unfitness,  lack  of  training,  sloth,  unreliability, 
negligence. 

2.  Lack  of  the  above  (See  Ans.  2  to  Q.  4,  above)  together 
with  lack  of  manners  and  address  of  a  gentlemen,  lack  of  cour- 
age, and  shiftlessness. 

6.  Should  a  man  apply  himself  to  a  specialty  in 
the  law? 

1.  Yes. 

2.  He  should  choose  between  being  an  adviser  to  business 
interests  and  handling  litigation  in  the  courts. 

7.  What  are  these  specialties? 

1,  Commercial,  corporation,  patent,  equity,  trusts,  probate, 
real  estate,  consulting,  trial  of  cases. 

2.  See  under  4  above. 

8.  Does  each  call  for  special  talents?  If  so, 
explain. 

1 .  Yes.  As  in  any  business  or  profession  in  life,  special  or 
natural  adaptability  or  "talent"  promises  best. 

2.  Yes.    I  have  already  explained  under  4. 

^  The  answers  to  this  question  are  generally  in  the  negative. 


I50  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

9.  What  do  you  estimate  the  average  lawyer's 
income  to  be? 

1.  Wide  range,  $3000  to  $10,000.^ 

2.  $3000  per  year.^ 

10.  What  can  an  average  graduate  of  college  and 
law  school  expect  to  earn  at  the  law  the  first  year, 
working  for  himself  or  for  others? 

1.  $500  to  $1500. 

2.  $500  to  $1000. 

What  the  tenth  year?  ^ 

1.  $3000  to  $6000. 

2.  $3000  to  $6000. 

^  These  estimates  are  higher  than  usually  made.  Many 
regard  $1500  as  a  fair  average. 

2  "In  the  Harvard  Law  Review  for  January  there  is  an  article 
addressed  especially  to  young  lawyers,  but  full  of  interest  and 
suggestion  for  many  other  classes  of  readers.  It  is  caUed 
*  Suggestions  from  Law  School  Graduates  as  to  where  and  how 
to  begin  Practice.'  It  is  written  by  Richard  Ames,  secretary 
of  the  Harvard  Law  School,  and  is  based  directly  upon  the  817 
answers  received  from  a  questionnaire  issued  to  the  1692  men 
who  graduated  from  the  School  in  the  ten  years  preceding  191 2. 
The  more  important  questions  were  these:  i.  'What  (as  nearly 
as  you  can  estimate  it)  have  been  your  net  earnings  from  law 
each  year  since  graduation?'  2,  'Have  you  any  suggestions 
to  offer  to  students  about  to  graduate  that  might  be  helpful  to 
them  in  deciding  where  to  locate  and  under  what  conditions 
to  begin  practice? ' 

"The  table  of  average  earnings  made  up  from  the  answers 
to  the  first  of  these  questions  contains  many  interesting  points. 
In  general  the  average  was  $664  for  the  first  year,  $5,325  for 
the  tenth.  In  New  England  the  first  year's  earnings  averaged 
$524,  in  Boston,  $495;  outside  New  England,  $753,  in  New 
York,  $720;  east  of  the  Mississippi,  $664,  west  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, $808;    in  cities  over  100,000,  $643;     in  cities   under 


THE  OLDER   PROFESSIONS  15  r 

What  the  twentieth  year? 

1.  $5000  to  $1 2,000.  No  satisfactory  averages  can  be  given. 
Exceptions  numerous.     Ranges  very  wide. 

2.  $10,000. 

11.  Does  a  more  paying  practice  usually  follow 
greater  experience  or  is  a  limit  reached  after  a  few 
years? 

1.  Yes,  in  the  absence  of  questions  of  health,  panics,  local 
changes,  other  reasons. 

2.  (No  answer). 

12.  Is  a  college  course  before  the  professional 
school  financially  profitable? 

1.  Yes,  it  should  be;  but  there  are  many  exceptions. 

2.  It  certainly  is. 

13.  What  location  offers  the  best  field,  town  or 
great  city? 

1.  City,  for  remuneration.  Town,  for  relative  position 
in  the  community.  Small  cities  or  county  seats,  for  com- 
fortable remuneration  and  political  preferment. 

2.  The  largest  center  of  population;  provided  always  you 
enter  by  the  proper  door,  and  do  not  blindly  plunge  yourself 
into  it. 

100,000,  $783.  In  the  eighth  year  out  —  the  last  for  which 
the  averages  are  given  by  localities  —  the  men  in  New  England 
report  $3,902,  in  Boston,  $4,266;  outside  New  England, 
$4,765;  in  New  York,  $4,210;  east  of  the  Mississippi,  $4,S4o; 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  $4,010;  in  cities  over  100,000,  $4,551; 
in  cities  under  100,000,  $3,550."  —  Harvard  Alumni  Bulletin, 

Feb.  II,  1914. 


Xil.  What  is  Efficiency? 

How  shall  we  account  for  the  great  difference 
between  the  income  of  the  average  medical  prac- 
titioner with  perhaps  $1200  a  year  and  that  of  the 
distinguished  physician  with  $150,000  a  year, — 
between  the  average  lawyer's  income  of  perhaps 
$1500  and  the  great  la^vyer's  of  $100,000?  These 
differences  in  earnings  represent  very  largely  the 
differences  in  ability  and  character.  In  general, 
given  equal  desire  for  wealth,  income  measures 
efficiency,  i.e.  mental  and  social  power. 

Evolution  or  the  upward  progress  of  man  has 
come  about  by  the  development  of  power  chiefly 
in  two  directions:  (i)  Brain-power,  or  the  power  to 
think  effectively  and  to  work  with  active  mind; 
(2)  Social  power,  or  the  power  so  to  regulate  one's 
actions,  character,  and  habits  as  to  live  and  work 
harmoniously  with  other  people.  Brain  power  and 
social  power  are  indicated  by  certain  good  qualities 
of  mind  and  character. 

Qualities  that  have  made  the  race  of  men  superior 
to  all  other  forms  of  animal  life  will  also  insure  the 
success  of  the  individual  among  other  men,  when- 
ever the  individual  is  preeminently  the  possessor 
of  these  good  qualities.  The  winning  qualities  and 
their  opposites  are  listed  on  the  following  pages. 


EFFICIENCY  153 

Mental  Power 

I.  Mental  Power  is  revealed  in  traits  of  jtidgment; 
as  when  a  person  is 

1.  Reasonable,   not   unreason-     5.  Practical,  not  impractical. 

able. 

2.  Teachable,  not  obdurate.        6.  Well-balattced,  not    unbal- 

anced. 

3.  Deliberate,  not  hasty.  7.  Shrewd,  not  easily  imposed 

on. 

4.  Sensible,  not  foolish.  8.  Foresighted,    not     without 

foresight. 

II.  Mental  power  is  revealed  in  attitude  of  mind; 
as  when  a  person  is 

1.  Alert,  not  dull  or  absent-     5.  Earnest,     not     indifferent. 

minded. 

2.  Attentive,   not   inattentive.     6.  Active,  not  passive. 

3.  i4//vc   a;«f  wide-awake,  not     7.  Quick,   not   slow. 

apathetic. 

4.  Serene,  not  ners'-ous.  8.  Interested,  not  without  in- 

terest. 

III.  Mental  power  is  revealed  in  methods  of  work; 
as  when  a  person  is 

1.  Prompt,  not  dilatory.  7.  Thorough,  not  slipshod. 

2.  Reliable,  not  unreliable.  8.  Industrious,  not  idle. 

3.  Careful,  not  careless.  9.  Hardworking,  not  lazy. 

4.  Painstaking,  not  reckless.  10.  Per5J5/en/,  not  changeable. 

5.  Steady,  not  intermittent.  11.  Orderly,  not  disorderly. 

6.  Systematic,     not     unsyste-  12.  Saving,  not  wasteful. 

matic. 

IV.  Mental  power  is  revealed  in  /rai^  of  cour- 
age; as  when  one  is 

1.  Self-possessed,  not  self-con-    3.  Confident,  not    distrustful 

scious.  of  self. 

2.  Self-reliant,  not  timid.  4.  Courageous,  not  fearfuL 


154 


WHAT  TO   STUDY  AND   HOW 


Social  Power 

I.   Social  power  is  revealed  in  social  traits;    as 
when  one  is 

1.  Unselfish,  not  selfish. 

2.  Sociable,  not  unsociable. 

3.  Talkative,  not  taciturn. 


11.  Gentle,  not  stern. 

12.  Democratic,  not  snobbish. 

13.  Cooperative,    not    comba- 

tive. 

14.  Steadfast,  not  treacherous. 

15.  Trustful,  not  suspicious. 

16.  Noble- hear  ted,  not  jealous. 

17.  Reverent,  not  irreverent. 

18.  Honorable,  not  dishonor- 
able. 

19.  High-minded,  not  base. 


4.  Well-spoken,  not  gossipy. 

5.  Generous,  not  avaricious. 

6.  jBewewZew/,  not  close-fisted. 

7.  Cheery,  not  sour. 

8.  Optimistic,  not  pessimistic. 

9.  Contented,  not  envious. 
10.  ^m'g/,  not  noisy. 

11.   Social  power  is  revealed  in  attitude  toward 
truth;  as  when  a  person  is 

1.  Honest,  not  dishonest. 

2.  Truthful,  not  untruthful. 

3.  Candid  and  frank,  not  de- 


ceitfvil. 
Conscientious, 
scientious. 


5.  Square,  not  unfair. 

6.  /m5^,  not  unjust. 

7.  Trustworthy,  not  untrust- 

worthy. 


not   uncon- 


III.   Social  power  is  revealed  in  qualities  of  heart; 
as  when  a  person  is 


I.  Modest,  not vsiin. 


6.  Thoughtful  of  others,  not 
boorish. 

7.  Courteous,    not    discour- 
teous. 

8.  Sympathetic,  not  unsym- 
pathetic. 

9.  Affectionate,  not  unaflFec- 

tionate. 
Respectftd,  not  disrespect-     10.  Loving,  not  antagonistic, 
ful. 


Kindly,  not  cruel. 
Hearty,  not  cold. 
Cordial,  not  indifferent. 


EFFICIENCY  155 

The  Positive  Qualities  named  above  are  in  line 
with  upward  progress;  their  opposites  with  de- 
generacy. "Think  on  these  things."  Utter  such 
desires  as  these  :  "I  want  to  \>e  honest.'^  "1  want 
to  be  alert  and  attentive.''     ''I  want  to  be  unselfish." 

The  Positive  are  godlike  qualities,  won  by  follow- 
ing the  noblest  impulses  and  by  efforts  to  do  right; 
the  Negative  survive  from  the  low  instincts  of 
primitive  men  and  animals,  and  often  come  without 
willing.  The  Positive  is  for  the  "Success  Club;" 
the  Negative  for  "drifters"  and  the  "Down-and- 
Out  Club." 

High  school  and  college  life  is  rich  in  opportunity 
to  develop  power  both  for  mental  work  and  for 
social  life.  Where  high  social  qualities  predomi- 
nate school  spirit  runs  high.  Where  high  mental 
qualities  predominate  excellent  work  results. 

Let  us  make  a  further  study  of  the  reasons  why 

incomes  vary  to  such  a  wide  extent.     Economists  General 

^  ,     .  ,  1.1        wages  de- 

use  the  term  wages  to  designate  the  reward  given  by  pendongerv 

society  to  all  kinds  of  labor;   and  labor  in  the  Ian-  ^^^^  ^^' 
r  •         '  11.  11  ployment 

guage  of  economists  is  used  to  designate  all  sorts  and  on  gen- 

of  work,  mental  or  physical,  including  that  of  pro-  ^F^^    ^^" 

fessional  men  and  superintendents  as  well  as  that 

of  day  laborers.    Now  it  is  necessary  to  distinguish 

between  real  wages  and  money  wages.    The  latter 

are  measured  in  dollars  and  cents  only;   the  former 

are    measured    by    the   amount   of    comfort   and 

luxury  that  can  be  secured  as  the  reward  of  labor. 

When  prices  are  high,  money  wages  may  be  high 

though  real  wages  may  be  low. 


156  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

Real  wages  are  greatest  in  the  most  advanced 
communities,  where  the  efficiency  of  labor  is  great- 
est.   Efficiency  depends  upon  (i)  the  skill  of  the 
workers,  (2)  their  physical  strength,  (3)  their  health, 
(4)  their  intelligence,  (5)  their  education,  and  (6) 
their  moral  qualities,  such  as  temperance,  honesty, 
persistency,  courage,  and  the  like.     Efficient  labor 
is  more  productive  than  inefficient;   and  the  larger 
the  output  or  product  of  the  workers,  the  more  can 
be  paid  as  wages.  •  General  employment  increases 
real  wages  for  the  same  reason  that  efficiency  in- 
creases it.     Both  increase  the  amount  of  goods  in 
the  world.     What  has  been  said  so  far  applies  to 
general  wages. 
The  wages  in  a  particular  kind  of  labor  will  de- 
Particular     pend  upon  the  supply  of  laborers  and  the  demand 
pend  on  the  for  them.     There  are  certain  kinds  of  labor  that 
law  of  sup-  can  be  done  only  by  highly  efficient  workers.     The 
mand  supply  of  highly  efficient  workers  is  strictly  limited. 

As  a  result  captains  of  industry,  great  professional 
men,  great  singers,  and  artists  who  enjoy  a  monop- 
oly of  talent  receive  wages  vastly  in  excess  of  the 
average  man's.  The  supply  of  moderately  efficient 
workers  is  less  limited;  these  enjoy  a  moderate 
income.  The  unskilled  and  unreliable  men,  those 
with  only  physical  strength  to  offer,  must  in  hard 
times  compete  with  the  whole  body  of  unemployed; 
and  in  consequence  their  income  is  a  precarious  one, 
and  usually  small  as  well  as  uncertain. 
The    labor    unions   by    limiting    artificially    the 

How  the       supply  of  workers  in  a  given  trade  secure  increased 

supply  IS  de-        ^  ^  '>  " 

termined.      wages  in  that  trade.     If  it  is  difficult  to  enter  any 


EFFICIENCY  157 

occupation  because  of  the  amount  of  preparation 
necessary,  or  for  any  other  reason,  there  will  be 
a  smaller  supply  of  labor,  and  wages  will  be  high. 
If  the  work  is  disagreeable,  or  held  in  low  social 
esteem,  or  if  it  is  uncertain  as  to  financial  success, 
the  competition  of  workers  within  it  will  be  less 
keen,  and  the  wages  correspondingly  higher.  It 
should  be  the  concern  of  every  young  man  to  find 
some  occupation  in  which  his  own  superior  skill 
will  bring  him  comparative  freedom  from  competi- 
tion and  increased  earning  capacity  as  a  result. 
Men  of  weak  mental  and  social  power  cannot  hope 
to  compete  with  those  endowed  by  nature  and  train- 
ing. Given  equal  physical  strength  and  technical 
skill,  the  man  who  can  make  friends  will  outstrip 
the  man  who  lacks  the  social  qualities;  and  the 
man  who  can  think  hard  will  outstrip  the  man  who 
lacks  thought  power  and  concentration. 

Initiative 

Initiative  is  another  prime  requisite  to  high 
earning  capacity.  The  great  danger  in  acquiring 
the  knowledge  and  training  of  our  schools  is  that 
they  may  fail  to  develop  initiative. 

It  may  be  possible  for  one  to  receive  an  excellent 

education,  so  far  as  mere  school  learning  goes,  and  ^^Y    some 

•111  •  /»        1        /"ii  1  r  •  ^re^t  men 

still  be  quite  unfitted  to  fill  any  place  of  importance,  fail  in  class 

or  to  do  anything  large  for  himself  or  for  others  in  ^^^^  ^^ 

the  world  outside.     Not  all  the  talk  one  hears  about 

the  impracticability  and  incompetence  of  many  who 

have  gone  through  the  educational  mill  is  altogether 

without  foundation  in  fact.    One  can  be  a  fairly 


158  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

good  success  in  school  and  an  utter  failure  out  of 
it;  on  the  other  hand  there  have  been  many  who 
were  counted  failures  in  college  who  succeeded 
beyond  expectation  in  active  life.  Even  in  the  world 
of  letters  there  is  a  long  list  of  men  —  including 
Burke,  Goldsmith,  Shelley,  Spencer,  and  Byron  — 
who  were  more  or  less  unsuccessful  so  far  as  class 
work  in  college  was  concerned.  On  the  other  hand, 
probably  every  college  professor  can  recall  not  a 
few  persons  who  did  good  and  faithful  work  day 
after  day  in  his  classes,  who  were  never  conspicu- 
ous for  great  success  in  later  life.  It  is  said  that 
men  are  sometimes  found  in  the  back  rooms  of 
lawyers'  offices,  preparing  briefs  at  $50  a  month, 
who  know  more  law  than  the  heads  of  the  firm. 

The  trouble  with  these  persons  generally  is  that 
The  mtel-  ^\^Qy  i^^^^]^  personal  initiative.  In  school  and  college 
drudge.  they    are    intellectual    drudges.     They    have    no 

motive  power  within  themselves.  They  accept 
the  tasks  that  others  assign;  they  have  never  learned 
to  direct  their  own  activities.  The  slaves  of  others, 
they  never  know  the  joy  of  working  for  themselves. 

There  were  two  students  in  college  at  one  time 
who  were  roommates,  taking  the  same  course. 
One  has  since  risen  to  an  important  executive  posi- 
tion, the  other  has  never  been  heard  from.  Let 
us  call  them  Jones  and  Jennings.  One  day  Jones 
was  committing  to  memory  one  of  Horace's  Odes, 
when  Jennings  happened  to  observe  what  he  was 
doing. 

"Why,  what  are  you  learning  that  for?  We 
didn't  have  to  commit  anything  to  memory!" 


EFFICIENCY  159 

Another  time  Jones  was  taking  notes  from  a  cer- 
tain book  on  economics  shortly  before  the  recita- 
tion in  that  subject.  Jennings  was  frightened;  he 
was  afraid  he  had  not  taken  down  all  of  the  assign- 
ment in  class. 

"Did  Clark  assign  any  work  in  that  book?" 

"No." 

"Then  what  in  the  name  of  sense  are  you  taking 
notes  from  it  for?" 

"Can't  I  do  anything  unless  somebody  tells  me 
to  do  it?"  was  the  reply  of  the  young  man  destined 
to  future  distinction. 

Jennings  was  a  perfect  type  of  what  I  should  call 
the  intellectual  drudge.  He  made  good  in  nearly 
every  recitation;  but  he  never  read  beyond  the 
lesson  assigned.  If  no  lesson  was  given  out  he 
was  of  course  idle.  So  long  as  there  was  a  task- 
master he  was  at  his  task;  but  of  personal  initia- 
tive he  had  absolutely  none.  I  suspect  that  the 
reason  he  never  did  much  of  anything  after  he 
graduated  was  that  he  failed  to  find  anyone  to 
assign  more  work  for  him  to  do  and  give  him  a 
mark  for  doing  it.  The  reason  such  geniuses  as 
Burke  and  Spencer  sometimes  prove  mediocre 
students  in  their  classes  is  that  they  are  so  full  of 
projects  of  their  own  which  they  are  working  out 
that  they  are  likely  to  neglect  the  classroom  work. 

Now  it  is  personal  initiative,  above  all,  that  is 
the  quality  demanded  for  success  in  the  higher 
positions  of  active  life;  and  this  quality  the  schools 
frequently  fail  to  biing  out.  There  is  discipline  in 
patient,  passive  obedience;    it  is  valuable  in  our 


i6o  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 

industrial  systems  where  purely  mechanical  work 
is  required.  The  graduate  of  a  primary  or  gram- 
mar school,  who  has  merely  learned  to  sit  still  all 
day  and  do  as  he  is  told,  makes  a  better  machine 
hand,  of  course,  than  the  unrestrained  savage 
would  make.  But  the  higher  the  grade  of  labor  to 
which  he  rises,  the  more  the  workman  is  called 
upon  to  find  tasks  for  himself  —  to  use  his  own 
motive  force.  In  executive  work  success  always 
depends  in  greatest  measure  on  personal  initiative. 
Of  course  this  initiative  may  be  developed  in 

An  instance  activities  outside  of  books.     Sometimes  the  young 

of  the  value  .      <•     ^        ^         i 

of  initiative,  man   is  fortunate  whose   pecuniary   circumstances 

are  such  as  to  throw  him  on  his  own  resources  dur- 
ing the  college  course.  I  have  in  mind  an  old 
classmate  who  made  a  remarkable  success  in  a  finan- 
cial way  as  a  mining  engineer.  He  worked  his  way 
through  college;  and  his  success  in  later  life  was 
wholly  due  to  personal  initiative.  After  a  course 
in  engineering,  he  began  as  stenographer  for  a 
mining  expert.  While  engaged  in  this  work  he 
became  interested  in  a  mine  then  in  litigation.  He 
copied  on  the  typewriter  the  legal  papers  concern- 
ing it.  He  had  previously  examined  the  mine,  and 
he  now  got  permission  to  make  tests  and  a  report 
after  the  manner  of  an  expert  mining  engineer. 
His  figures  proved  of  the  greatest  importance  to 
his  employer,  and  he  was  at  once  promoted.  Later, 
on  his  own  initiative,  he  discovered  and  exposed  a 
salted  mine,  one  in  which  gold  dust  and  nuggets  had 
been  put  to  deceive  buyers.  By  this  initiative  he 
protected  an  English  syndicate  from  fraud.    The 


EFFICIENCY  i6i 

syndicate  sent  him  at  a  considerable  salary  to  take 
charge  of  mines  in  Australia.  There,  without  orders, 
he  set  himself  the  task  of  examining  the  properties 
near  by,  and  whenever  he  found  them  valuable  he 
cabled  the  syndicate  advising  immediate  purchase. 
In  each  case  his  judgment  was  followed,  to  the 
great  profit  of  his  employers  and  to  his  own  per- 
sonal advancement.  The  last  time  I  saw  him  he 
was  on  his  way  from  San  Francisco  to  purchase  and 
take  charge  of  mining  properties  in  China,  with  a 
salary  of  $30,000  a  year  and  a  share  in  the  profits. 

What  is  true  of  the  value  of  initiative  in  executive 
work  along  industrial  lines  is  no  less  true  in  pro- 
fessional careers:  the  author,  poet,  artist,  minister, 
lawyer,  and  physician  must  be  his  own  task-master 
in  every  case.  Somehow  each  must  have  learned 
to  work  for  himself. 

The  intellectual  drudge  not  only  fails  to  develop 

initiative,  but  he  fails  also  to  get  from  his  work  the  Working 

,    ,    1  r    1  •  •        ,       TT.  ,    .     with  a  will, 

joy  and  gladness  of  ultimate  tnumph.     His  work  is 

that  of  the  slave  rather  than  that  of  the  free  man. 

His  heart  is  not  in  it.    He  does  not  really  know  what 

he  is  working  for.     He  has  his  eye  on  the  pass-mark 

and  the  diploma,  when  it  should  be  on  the  eternal 

beauty  and  utility  of  knowledge.     All  honor  to  those 

self-made  men,  the  Lincolns  and  others,  who  have 

seen  the  weakness  of  the  unlearned,  the  strength  of 

the  wise,  and  with  none  to  set  tasks  but  their  own 

strong  wills,  have  climbed  to  the  heights  of  true 

culture. 

But  how  then,  some  one  asks,  will  you  have  us 

learn?     Iq  school  lessons  are  assigned;    the  class 


l62 


WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND  HOW 


language. 


must  keep  step.  Besides,  teachers  are  valuable 
helpers  and  few  students  have  the  strength  of  will 
to  work  alone.  Is  it  not  better  to  go  to  school? 
In  reply  to  such  questions  I  would  answer,  Go  to 
school  by  all  means.  But  be  a  live  student,  not  an 
intellectual  drudge.  The  former  has  in  view  the 
ultimate  end,  the  final  mastery  and  use  of  a  subject; 
the  latter  sees  only  the  daily  task.  The  student  who 
is  developing  power  of  initiative  determines,  for 
instance,  to  master  a  language.  He  wants  the  art 
of  reading  and  conversing  in  another  tongue;    and 

Initiative  in  |-]^g  sooner  he  can  get  that  power  the  better  he  likes  it. 

earning  a  -a  c 

The  lesson  assigned  —  so  many  pages  of  grammar 

and  text,  so  many  minutes  in  recitation  —  is  not 
enough  for  him.  He  sets  himself  to  commit  pas- 
sages; he  reads  aloud;  he  practices  on  his  fellow 
students  whenever  he  gets  the  chance.  He  keeps 
up  the  work  in  spare  hours  during  vacation.  He 
tries  to  meet  and  talk  with  natives.  All  this  re- 
quires initiative,  which  is  the  father  of  executive 
force. 

I  knew  a  young  man  who  wanted  all  the  power 
that  comes  from  a  thorough  knowledge  of  mathe- 
matics. *'Why,"  said  he  to  me  one  day,  "a  man 
can  become  famous  by  discovering  mathematical 
laws.  Mathematics  is  such  a  valuable  study." 
He  hunted  for  original  proofs  in  geometry,  sought 
practical  problems  in  which  to  apply  the  principles 
of  algebra,  and  I  once  saw  him  with  a  quadrant 
going  about  to  measure  the  heights  of  buildings  and 
chimneys. 

Another  student  became  so  much  interested  in 


In  learning 
mathema- 
tics. 


EFFICIENCY  163 

electrical  phenomena  that  he  could  scarcely  take  ^"  learning 

,  -rx  11  .1         ,  .     a  science, 

time  to  sleep.  He  wound  a  large  coil  and  experi- 
mented with  the  X-ray  and  wireless  when  these 
wonders  were  new  to  the  world.  Today  he  is  a 
manufacturer  of  coils  and  other  electrical  supplies. 

Another  student  was  all  afire  over  chemistry. 
He  read  books  on  the  application  of  chemistry  to 
industry.  Of  course  his  college  work  meant  some- 
thing to  him,  for  there  was  purpose  in  it.  Today 
he  is  working  to  apply  his  knowledge  of  chemistry 
in  the  manufacture  of  dye-stuffs  from  coal-tar 
products.  If  he  succeeds,  there  is  the  possibility 
that  he  may  open  factories  now  closed  for  want  of 
dyes,  and  enrich  his  country  with  a  new  and  inde- 
pendent industry. 

Few  if  any  large  measures  looking  to  the  better- 
ment of  mankind  are  being  developed  in   autoc-  Freedom 

^  ,  .  ,       .    .  .        ,         -the  source 

racies.     Great  achievements  must  be  initiated  and  of  great 

wrought  to  accomplishment  in  an  atmosphere  of  achieve- 
ri  i-,.11        r         *         -11  •      ments. 

freedom.    Consider  what  free  America  has  done  in 

sanitation,  medicine,  and  industry:  there  are  the 
cotton  gin,  the  steamboat,  the  telephone,  the  tele- 
graph, the  graphophone,  the  harvester,  the  aero- 
plane, the  rubber  industry,  the  modem  steel 
industry,  the  sewing-machine,  machinery  for 
making  shoes,  the  typewriter,  and  the  science  of 
bridge-building,  —  all  results  of  American  study 
and  enterprise,  the  gifts  of  a  free  country. 
It  is  in  the  spirit  of  freedom  that  school  work 

should  be  done.    The  school  that  does  not  inspire  but  ^^^^  ^^^ . 
J  .         •  '^  1    .  ,         .„  ,.1    1      f      1  student  is 

drives  its  pupils  to  their  tasks  will  likely  further  no  the  one  with 

strong  initiative,  certainly  no  thorough  original  per-  ^  purpose. 


1 64  WHAT  TO  STUDY  AND   HOW 

formance.  It  will  turn  out  time-servers  and  under- 
lings, not  great  men  and  women.  But  where 
students  push  forward  in  their  work,  self-impelled; 
advised  and  directed,  but  not  forced;  working  for 
themselves,  not  for  the  teacher;  and  because  they 
want  to  learn,  not  because  they  are  compelled  by 
the  will  of  another,  —  there  abides  hope  for  the 
advancement  of  the  nation  and  the  race. 
The  trouble  with  the  intellectual  drudge  is  this: 
Final  word.  Jong  ago,  perhaps  in  the  primary  school,  he  got 
the  habit  of  accepting  exterior  authority  in  the 
assignment  of  tasks,  —  he  went  to  work  for  the 
teacher,  and  he  has  never  set  up  for  himself.  This 
book  is  written  with  the  hope  that  some  students 
who  read  it  will  thereby  develop  initiative,  will 
get  purposes  of  their  own,  will  set  up  in  business  for 
themselves  in  the  matter  of  study.  If  any  con- 
siderable number  of  those  who  read  it  are  helped 
to  get  into  right  relations  with  their  work,  the  book 
will  have  fulfilled  its  mission. 


APPENDIX   A 

Some  Statistics  on  the  Economic  Value  of  Education 

I.  Efect  of  Scientific  Agriculture  in  Germany  ^ 

In  thirty  years  crop  production  per  acre  has  increased 

Rye 87.2%      Barley 60.8% 

Wheat 88.5%      Oats 85.8% 

Potatoes 80.8% 

This  yield  would  have  increased  American  crops  in  1907  to 

$1,400,000,000  more  than  they  were  worth. 

II.  Education  and  Farm  Incomes  in  Tompkins 

County,  N.  Y. 

Year's  Returns  on  Labor 

Owners  with  common  school  education $318.00 

Owners  with  high  school  education $662.00 

Owners  with  college  education $847.00 

High  school  education  =  5  %  bond  for $5900.00 

III.   College  Education  and  Incomes  of  Professional 
Men 

Estimated  Average 
Not 
College        College 
Graduate    Graduate 

Lawyers $500  to  $150,000  $1500  $800 

Physicians 500  to     150,000  $1200  $750 

Dentists 500  to      20,000  $2500  $1500 

Teachers 400  to      10,000  $1200  $900 

'    The  Past  mid  Future  of  Eduration,  John  H.  Gray. 


i66 


APPENDIX 


IV.  A  Sttidy  of  Noted  Americans  from  ^^  Who's  Who 
in  America'' 

Without  education o 

With  common  school  education 1368 

With  high  school  education 1627 

With  college  education 7709 

Without  education No  chance  to  become  noted. 

With  common  school  education One  chance  in  9000. 

With  high  school  education One  chance  in  450. 

With  college  education One  chance  in  42. 


V.    The  Money  Value  of  Technical  Training 


Capitalized  Wage  Curve  of  Weekly  Wage  at  Various  Ages 

$45,000 

40,000 

35,000 

30,000 

25.000 

20,000 

15,000 

10,000 

6,000 

Age  16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     27     28     29     30     31     32 

mmmmm  Wage  of  UniveTsity  Trained  Engineer  Wage  of  Sliop  Trained  Men 

.  ..at  Wage  of  Scliool  Trained  Engineer  Wage  of  Unskilled  Men 


LP- 

• 

yl. 

_X' 

A 

/32.00 

^ 

K 
-.00 

25.00 

20.00 

22,00 



'^ 

22.00 

— 

-"■ 

■■" 

15.00 

< 

.''■ 

J 

^ 

r^l 

8.00 

12.0^ 

<io. 

•^.Oi 
2(1 

) 

^<. 

y^A 

J^ 

fe<:- 

3.00 

""74.00 

^  Transactions    of   the   American   Society    of   Mechanical 
Engineers,  Vol.  xxv. 


APPENDIX  167 

VI.  Money  Valite  of  High  School  Education,  as 

Shown  by  Massachusetts  Boys  ^ 

Report  of  State  Board  of  Education 

Average  Wages  at 
First  Year  25  Years. 
Per  Week      Per  Week 

Left  School  at  14.  .  . $4.00  $12.75 

Left  School  at  18 10.00  31.00 

Total  Earnings 

Boy  with  common  school  education,  12  years'  work .  .  .$5722.50 
Boy  with  high  school  education,  8  years'  work $7377-50 

VII.  Summary  of  Civil  Service  Employees  in  the 

County  of  Erie  for  igij  ^ 

Number    Aver. 

con-        Yearly 

sidered      Wages 

Unskilled  workers 655        $729 

Workers  with  special  training 82         1618 

Technically  trained  men 306        1948 

VIII.  Special  Schooling  for  Skilled  Trades  Shown 
by  Records  for  igi4  of  Graduates  from  William' 
son  School  of  Mechanic  Trades  * 

Average  Incomes 

73  in  business  for  themselves $2848.20 

172  salaried  executives  each 1890.20 

293  in  skilled  trades 1072.05 

51  teachers  in  trade  schools 1349.09 

^  Journal  of  Education,  Sept.  14,  191 1. 

2  From  Weaver's  Profitable  Vocation  for  Boys,  p.  40. 

'  Ibid.,  p.  38. 


APPENDIX  B 

List  of  Books  on  Vocations 

Baker,  A.  M.,  How  to  Succeed  as  a  Stenographer  or  Typewriter. 

Fowler  and  Wells. 
Beveridge,  A.  J..  The  Young  Man  and  the  World.     Appleton. 

1905, 
Bigelow,  W.  D.,  Chemical  Positions  in  the  Government  Service. 

Science.     1908. 
Bird,  T.  A.,  Sales  Plans.     1910. 

Blythe,  S.  G.,  Making  of  a  Newspaper  Man.     Altemus.     191 2. 
Boston  Vocational  Bureau,  The  Department  Store.     1912. 
Boston  Vocational  Bureau,  The  Banker. 
Boston  Vocational  Bureau,  Law  as  a  Vocation. 
Browne,  Edith  A.,  Peeps  into  Industries.     191 2. 
Burnham,  W.  P.,  Three  Roads  to  a  Commission  in  the  Army. 

Appleton.     1893. 
Carr,  C.  E.,  The  Railway  Mail  Service.     McClure.     1909. 
Carrere,  J.  M,,  Architecture  as  a  Profession.     Cosmopolitan. 

35:  488. 
Carson,  H.  N.,  The  Romance  of  Steel.     Barnes.     1907. 
Cherrington,  P.  T.,  Advertising  as  a  Business  Force.    Double- 
day.     1913. 
Clark,  T.  M.,  Building  Superintendence.     Macmillan.     1913. 

$3.00. 
Collins,  H.  J.,  The  Art  of  Hatidling  Men.     Altemus.     1910. 
Corbion,  W.  A.,  Principles  of  Salesmanship.    Jacobs.     1907. 
Craig,  J.  A.,  Sheep  Farming  in  North  America.    Macmillan. 

1913- 
Dooley,  W.  H.,  Textiles.    Heath.     1912.     $1.10. 
Duncan,  Robt.  K.,  Chemistry  of  Commerce.     Harper.     1907. 

$2.00. 
Eaton,  Walter  P.,  The  American  State  To-day.    Small.     $1.50. 


APPENDIX  169 

Eckles,  C.  H.,  Dairy  Cattle  and  Milk  Production.    Macmillan. 

1911.    $1.60. 
Edgar,  Wm.  C,  Story  of  a  Grain  of  Wheat.    Appleton.     1904. 
Esenwein,  J.  Berg,  Writing  the  Short  Story.     Hinds  and  Noble. 

1909. 
Eagan,  J.  O.,  Labor  and  the  Railroads.    Houghton.      1909. 

$1.00. 
Foltz,  E.  B.  K.,  Federal  Civil  Service  as  a  Career.     Putnam. 

1909.     $1.50. 
Gage,  F.  W.,  Modern  Press  Work.    Inland  Printer.     1908. 
Gibson,  Chas.  R.,  Electricity  of  To-day.    London.     1907. 
Given,  J.  L.,  Making  of  a  Newspaper.     Holt.     1907. 
Hall,  S.  R.,  How  to  Get  a  Position  and  How  to  Keep  it.     Funk 

and  Wagnalls.     1908.    $.50. 
Harrington,  Frank,  How  to  Make  a  Studio  Pay.   Wilson.    1914. 
Harris,  A.  M.,  Letters  to  a  Young  Lawyer.    West  Publishing 

Co.,  St.  Paul. 
Hitchcock,  Fred  H.,  The  Building  of  a  Book.    Hitchcock. 

1906.    $2.00. 
Hoy t,  A.  S.,  The  Preacher.    McClurg.     191 1.    $1.75. 
HungQTioTd,The  Modern  Railroad.    Macmillan.    1909.    $1.50. 
Husband,  Joseph,  A  Year  in  a  Coal  Mine.    Houghton.     191 1. 

$1.10. 
Johnson,  C.  N.,  Success  in  Dental  Practice.    Lippincott.     1913. 
Lagnac,  Albert,  Musical  Education.     Appleton. 
Low,  W.  H.,  i4  Painter^ s  Progress.     Scribner. 
Harden,  O.  S.,  Choosing  a  Career.     Bobbs-Merrill.     1905. 
Mathew,  J.  McC,  How  to  Succeed  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine. 

Saunders.     1905. 
Monroe,  J.  P. ,  New  Demand  of  Education.    Doubleday.     1 9 1 2 . 
Nelson,  S.  A.,  How  to  Get  Admission  to  West  PoitU.     1898. 
Palmer,  G.  H.,  The  Ideal  Teacher.     Houghton.     1910. 
Powell,  E.  P.,  Orchard  and  Fruit  Gardens.    Doubleday.     1908. 

Si. 10. 
Reid,  Wm.  A.,  The  Young  Man's  Chances  in  Central  and  South 

America.    Washington.     1914. 
Shaw,  Albert,  The  Outlook  for  the  Average  Man.    Macmillan. 

1907. 


I70  APPENDIX 

Small,  Sydney,  How  to  Become  a  Successful  Motorman.    Drake. 

1908. 
Smith,  J.  Russell,  r/fe  Oceaw  Cafmn    Putnam.     1908.    $1.50. 
Stearns,  G.  F.,  Medicine  as  a  Profession.      Cosmopolitan. 

Apr.,  1913. 
Stevens,  Chas.  McC,  Complete  Civil  Service  Manual.     Hinds. 

'  1902. 
Stockwell,  H.  G.,  Essential  Elements  of  a  Business  Character . 

Revell.     191 1.    $.60. 
U.  S.  Civil   Service   Commission,   Manual  of  Examinations. 

Free. 
Weaver,  E.  W.,  Profitable  Vocations  for  Boys.     Barnes. 
Weaver,  E.  W.,  Profitable  Vocations  for  Girls.     Barnes.    1915. 
Whittingham,  H.,  That  Farm.     Doubleday.     1914.    $1.20. 
Williams,  A.,  Wonders  of  Mechanical  Ingenuity.    Lippincctt. 

1910. 


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